FATEDOWN THE CRIMSON PATH ON HIATUS
by SleepingPandaRose
Summary: Following Rin's mysterious disappearance at the end of the 5th Grail War, Sakura stepped up as the new family head, vowing to avenge her sister. However, when the next war began ten years later, she faces a war completely different to the previous war. Matters got worse when two True Ancestors were spotted in the city, and the existence of a mysterious woman with great powers. OC.
1. Chapter 1

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

 **A/N:** Hey all! This is actually a fic by one of my very good friends, **Tohsaka Rin!** She is the true author of this fic while I am just merely a publisher. Please R&R and I am sure her story won't disappoint! Enjoy~

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

Tohsaka Sakura stood atop the Fuyuki City's highest business building. _Ten years..._ The brunette thought, clutching the bouquet of white jasmines closer to her bosom. _Has it truly been so long?_ Closing her aquamarine eyes ,she released the flowers into the night air. She opened her eyes again, now brimming with tears, and watched as the white petals rode on the wind and finally disappeared from sight. It was then she noticed a petal, one sole petal which clung onto the cuff of her long red overcoat. She picked the petal up and blew it away, again watching it disappearing into the night.

Slowly ,she reached into her pocket and took out a yellowed envelope. With shaking hands, she brought it to her lips and gave her long deceased sister a silent prayer. _Wherever you are now, nee-san, I hope you finally found the peace you sought..._ Again, in slow motion, she replaced the letter into her pocket and continued to watch the night life in the city.

Beside her, the air shimmered, and Servant of the Chariot, Rider appeared beside her in a shower of pink dust. Long purple hair that hit the back of her knees, black sweater, along with black slacks and shoes. It was the attire Sakura gave to Rider before they came back to Fuyuki. Her Mystic Eyes had odd square pupils, however they had no effect at the moment due to the pair of glasses Sakura specially made for her.

"Do you want to go to her grave? It's been a long time after all." The Servant remarked.

With a bitter sweet smile, Sakura shook her head slightly. "No Rider, I'm fine. Besides, I don't think the cemetery is open at this time of the day. Maybe another time."

"You want to tell me what happened back then? Maybe you'll feel better. It's not good keeping things to yourself you know. Sometimes, it hurts."

Sakura sighed, and took a seat on one of the ventilation pipes on the roof. The Heroic Spirit sat down beside her, silently regarding her with her odd pupils.

"Well, I suppose I should begin with happened during the war ten years ago..." Her eyes began to fill with tears. She took out the letter again, and Rider noticed how rasped her breathing was, how her hands were shaking when she held the envelope and how tenderly she held the letter as if it were her life.

"Is that?"

She nodded sadly. "Ten years ago, everything changed. For me,for senpai,for Shinji-nii... and for nee-san... Everyone changed so much after what happened. That final night at Ryuudou temple, that was where and when everything changed."

 _Flashback begins...(Sakura's point of view)_

 _Ten years ago  
_

As usual, during this time of the night when I was free from what grandfather called training, and those people with a heart would call torture, I sat in front of my study table, doing my homework. At the moment, I was cracking my head over a very complicated algebra question. I had always been weak at maths, simply because I loathed the subject to a point I wish such things didn't exist. I mean, as a Magus, there's no need for us to pursue mundane education, not that I was acknowledge as one of course. All this was to keep up appearances. Besides, going to school did have their benefits. I didn't need to stay at that cold and dark place the whole day and face that old man the whole day. Plus, I could see senpai, and her...

A disturbance in the bounded field surrounding the Matou manor broke me out from my reverie. That old man must have felt it too, but he seemed to pay no heed to it. Curious, I stood up and opened the window. Just a little to the left of my room, something kept hitting the field, causing a rippling effect on the field. _Weird..._ I thought to myself, and sat down at the window, watching it hitting the field again, even though it was constantly being repelled. Then, something miraculous happened. A hole formed in the field, and whatever it was, it quickly moved through the hole before it closed. The thing came straight at me, and I opened my hands and granted it a landing spot. Quickly closing the window, I sat down at my table, and pried the red wax away,taking out the carefully folded papers inside.

The handwriting was unfamiliar to me, but looking at the name of the recipient told me who the sender was. _Tohsaka Sakura._ That was the name of the recipient. Aside from grandfather and nii-san, there was only one person in the world who knew my true birth family, and that person is none other than my biological sister, Tohsaka Rin.

I felt hurt, betrayed. After so many years worth of abandonment, what did she want with me now? I was a complete nobody to her. Someone she gladly ignored in life, never cared for after I was sent away. Eleven years, and now, she's trying to reach me? For a moment, I almost felt like laughing. The mighty school idol, the mighty Tohsaka Rin actually sent a letter to a complete nobody?! Fueled by the hatred and hurt I had bottled up for so long, I was so tempted to tear the letter apart and leave it to rot. But I stayed calm, and forced myself to read it. It was, after all, the first thing she had ever sent me after we were separated.

" _Dearest Tohsaka Sakura, my little sister,_

 _I dread the day, the very moment your eyes should fall on these very words. Even as I sit in front of the table in my room, putting these words on paper, and m_ y _mind wondering about you and my life, I secretly hoped that you won_ _'t need to know all this from a dead girl's final words. Because they carry no meaning now. They never did, they never will. Sakura, you may choose to read on, and know about the life of the girl who hurt you so much, and never realized her foolish mistakes, not until her journey was nearing its end. Or, you can put this letter away, until you find it in you to at least accept me once again into your life, and read on. Or you can choose to never pay heed to this. The choice is yours._

 _I am sorry I never visited, never cared. I should have done so. And I'm sorry for always being silent,for always pushing you aside. I can't say anything to you anymore, because I had my chance, but I squandered it. That's why I'm putting this onto paper now. You might wonder why I chose to write instead of knocking at your door, or at least call you. It's because ... Sometimes, even if you want to say something, but you cannot, so you hold it in you, day after day, month after month, year after year, until you can no longer do so, until the day when you are ready to tell somebody everything. I wanted so desperately to see you again, to hold you again, to pour out everything that has been locked up for so long,but they would not come out. That is why I am sitting here now,with a pen and some papers in hand, looking back at my life and writing this to my only living relative. I feel ... I feel like I would not be able to move on, and face whatever is waiting at Ryuudou Temple without trying at least once to reach you, without trying to at least tell you something. Without at least a little consolation that even someone as cold and emotionless like me, had tried to reach out the end of her journey, I fear I am not ready to face death, like how a Magus should._

 _Sakura, I hope this manage to reach you from my grave, as I know I would not be giving this to you in person, nor will I tell you all this in person. A Magus walks with death, and I am prepared to do so, at least that is what I'm trying to convince myself. However, I will not leave this world without at least leaving a mark somewhere, and this is my mark. I'm sorry this mark may come as a scar for you, but we humans do not wish to die unremembered. I write this on the night before I venture to Ryuudou Temple, where I assume the final battle would unfold. If you receive this letter, then it means that I didn't survive the fight. The seal I placed on the envelope is a special one. It will only activate once my life essence disappears from this world. Then it will surely find its way to you, no matter what the costs are. I'm glad it did._

 _I guess, I should start by apologizing to you. For everything that I did, and for those that I should have done, but never did. I'm sorry for leaving you alone, I'm sorry for no being there for you when you needed me the most. I am sorry I never visited and never cared. I'm sorry I never try to reach out to you,to listen to you, to help you. Most importantly, I'm sorry I can no longer be your sister and make amends. Sakura, I will never ask for your forgiveness, because I don't deserve all that. Not anymore, I lost all that when I left you in that hell. That's why, my dear sister, I will ask nothing from you,even after my demise. Not your tears, or your mourning, nothing._

 _I know that saying all this now cannot change what had happened to you, but, will you at least hear me out? At least, let me reach out to you this one time? Allow me to say something to you as a true family? Give me the chance, to be your sister one more time, and give you what you truly deserve. Sakura, in this letter, you will know the life of a self-centered Magus who left her sister to hell._

 _You must have been wondering every day, every moment, every minute, every second after you were sent away, why did I never came for you? Why was I acting like someone who had never known you? Why did I never save you, reach you? Why? Why in the end all you receive from me is just words on pieces of paper? Why all this rubbish? Resent me, hate me , loathe me, pour out all your anger, your hatred, your bitterness onto me, if it means it can at least offer you a little salvation._

 _Sakura, the truth is, we are not normal humans. That's why, we couldn't have a normal life, and be the true siblings we are. That's just how cruel our world is. That's why,father wanted you to have a crest of your own, to build your own legacy, and one day, even in the far future,the both of us would be remembered as the greatest Magus who had ever lived. That's why, he never checked when Matou Zouken made the proposal. At the thought of a crest, a crest, Sakura, he immediately agreed to give you away. Mother agreed, though reluctant. She had always told me, that she had known something like this would happen when she accepted father's hand in marriage._

 _I, I was hurt. Truly hurt. Why?! Why must they send you away? Why can't the both of us study magic together? Why can't we be remembered together? Why must you be sacrificed? Why must one of us be sacrificed? I begged to father, I truly did, I wanted you to stay. As the elder sibling, I should be the one to sacrifice, not you. But father turned me down, he said it was my inheritance as the eldest child. Fate had been set for young Matou Sakura, there was nothing I could do about it back then. I was only six years old, what could I do? Except to cry and beg father, and to no avail? Why would he listen to the words of a little girl?_

 _Remember the day you were taken away by those men in black? I wished I was the one being brought away. You turned back to look at me, the tears brimming in your eyes, crying for me. But I stood there like a statue. I did nothing, said nothing. What was there for me to do? After you went out of sight, I ran back to my room, and cried until my tears dried up. It hurt, it hurt so much not having you around. It felt as if a part of me was taken away at the same were always with me, like my shadow. We played together, eat together, pulled pranks on Uncle Kariya together, slept in the same bed like how sisters should be like, and mother would always smile over us, like the sweet angel she was. They were all memories now. We could never go back to the good old days anymore. Can we, Sakura? Can we at least look back now, and smile at the sweet memories we had together? Cherish them even if we can no longer have those days?Will it be too much to ask?_

 _I had to move on with life, even if it meant without my little sister with me. Even if it meant not caring about her anymore, that was what father told me. Magus had to make sacrifices if we want to achieve great glory. At that time, I was a fool for thinking that every word he had told me was right, that our father was flawless, that he was a great Magus whom I wanted to become. Eleven years, Sakura. It took me that long to realize how foolish I was to look up to that man, how foolish it was to take everything he had said to my heart. But, the damage was done to my little sister, and there's no way, no other method that I could sought to change things._

 _Thus, listening to that man's words, I lived on, fully ignorant about the life we abandoned you to. Never cared, never checked, never visited. That's just how cruel I was back then. I smiled, pulled pranks, just like what we used to do together. Do you remember them? I know I do. The memories are too precious to be left behind, because those were the only true happy days that I had with you, with anyone. But I tell you this now. All that was bullshit to me now. Especially after I knew the truth. I guess... I finally understood why I had always kept my distance from other people afterwards. That was why all the facade was about. I didn't want to get hurt all over again. Not after my sister was taken away from me. I didn't want to feel all that again. Once was enough to last me a lifetime. But at the same time, I didn't want to hurt mother. That's why I put that mask up, blending in, acting like a true child of a Magus who understood the meaning of sacrifice._

 _But mother was never the same again after you left, or rather, after we abandoned you. A few days after you were brought away, Uncle Kariya returned from his trip. That was the first time I heard him raising his voice against mother, and it was also the last time we ever saw him. Do you know what happened to Uncle Kariya? Did you get the chance to see him? I know he had loved mother, more than as a friend, but they could never be together. The path of Magus is a cruel one, and even I despise most of the rules. But that's aside the point. I must hurry, time is running out._

 _That war ten years ago, caused me to lose all the people I loved. You, mother and father. I heard that Uncle Kariya fell as a victim to the war as well, is it true? It broke me,i t truly did. Father never returned from war, he was killed in it. I can almost remember the details so clearly as if it happened yesterday. Father's funeral was half year after the war finished, and mother was wheelchair-bounded, and mentally broken. I was cold, emotionless. I had enough of this harsh reality I stopped feeling things, I stopped hearing things, I stopped seeing things. I closed myself up, to protect my mind from things, from the fact that I was not the cold, calculating Magus father wanted me to become. And most importantly, to keep my distance away from my legal guardian, that Kotomine Kirei which both of us hated._

 _Mother died a year after the war. I guess, it was a good thing she finally left. There was no need for our dear sweet mother to suffer any longer. I dropped out from school, and hired a tutor. I could get mundane education at home, there was no need for me to step out and get hurt all over again. Kirei came and went as he liked, he was never a good guardian to begin with, but I never see through his true colors until much later. When I hit my teenage years, I fired all the Servants in the house, and changed the identification matrix such that even that Kirei couldn't get in. That was the life I wanted, to live alone, never to get hurt again._

 _Then, ten years elapsed, and I was going for high school education before going to Clock Tower to get my formal tertiary education as a Magus. I thought, it would be nice to study back in the place called school again, even if it meant keeping other people at a distance. Thus I registered for the local high school,Homurahara Academy. I did made a few friends, and was the vice student council president for the first year,but resigned after a year. The reason was, Ryuudou was a little cautious against me, always thinking that I was plotting something that was going to harm him and the school, occasionally calling me a witch. Well, one way or another, he was right, but I'm a Magus, not witch. You can ask Emiya-kun,that raven haired president still thinks badly about me, not that I'm blaming him anyway._

 _Then, imagine my surprise when I saw you on the freshmen ceremony. Not at your presence, but your appearance. After all, your worthless stepbrother attended school, so why can't you? Your hair, violet, no longer the dark luxurious hair a Tohsaka should have. And your eyes were equally violet as well, no longer the matching pair of sapphire eyes I used to see. You were...so different. And you eyes, the way you carried yourself, it was as if you had given up on everything, that this life was no longer worth fighting for. There was no sign of the sweet little girl I used to know, who had always been with me. I realized it. Tohsaka Sakura had long ceased to exist, replaced by this apparition before me, who took her body, and changed her beyond recognition. You turned to meet my eyes, but I immediately averted the gaze, it must'd hurt you. I'm sorry, Sakura. Back then, I didn't what happened. That's why, all we had between us were polite nods and smiles whenever we met on campus._

 _And then, I noticed, how beautiful you had alway smiled when Emiya-kun was with you. I had always wished that I would be the one who could truly make you smile, but he did it much better than I ever did, ever would. You seemed like another person when you were with him. You eyes were lively and your cheeks were always tainted pink. Are you in love with him? He's a nice man, so I trust he would be able to take good care of you. Mitzuduri-san had always said that you two were lovers, and I knew she was the one who brought you two together, and I'm thankful for that. Because I can at least leave this world, knowing that there was always someone there for you. He would always be there for you, should you find yourself in need of a shoulder to lean on._

 _You must be wondering, why am I not talking about the hardships of being a Magus. I will tell you now. All that is just bullshit. Why can't Magus go through mundane life like any other people? Why can't we be true family for just once? All those rules are bullshit, and if any other Magus find it odd, they can kiss my ass, I don't care. But now, I must tell you something about the war. Things that you don't know, but I wish that you do. Because, somehow, perhaps it might change your mind about me, if you are still willing to believe my words._

 _Shortly after I met you in my second year, the blasted war began again. At first, I was excited to fight in the war, because I thought that I could finally reach fathers expectations. Things worked out badly, I must say. I summoned my Servant, but he turned out to be an Archer instead of a Saber, and he was damn sarcastic and was a huge jerk with fake amnesia as a bonus. But looking on the bright side, he cleaned the house, cooked, and made great tea. I'm not joking. That guy makes great tea and food. The war began, and the first casualty that I knew was Emiya Shirou. He was stabbed to the heart by Lancer. I arrived, and was horrified to find out that it was him. How was I going to ever look in your eyes again, on the next day, for the rest of my life, knowing that it was my carelessness which had him killed? He was just a innocent bystander back then._

 _That's why, Sakura, I saved him. Along with father's will and a smashed up catalyst of a sort, he left me a wonderful pendant. The catalyst I gladly ignored, I preferred someone who was aligned to me, thus random summon was the solution. The pendant, however, was something really precious. That single stone stored mana in such an amount that my ten years worth of storage was not even a mere fraction. That was how powerful it was. Imagine what I could've done in the war with it. Winning the stupid war was easy with such a trump card. My victory was assured. But... I didn't use it for the war. I used it to save that man's life, the life of the man which meant everything to you. I didn't want to see you losing your smile, that's why I saved him. But I forgot about the pendant and left it behind. After all, it had served its purpose._

 _Fate has a strange way of tormenting people, Sakura. The very night I saved his life, he was revealed to be a Master as well. Must I kill the man who had brought happiness into my sister's life? I hesitated. That's why, I chose to spare his life, and even agreed to have a truce with him. That novice could not have survived the night without my help. I needed to make sure that he would live through this, and return to you side so that you two could have your own future together._

 _Then,he told me about how Shinji had been hitting you. He didn't know I am you sister, and he still doesn't know. I believe that I manage to keep my composure. But as soon as I left his house that morning, I stormed towards his house,the anger within me boiling, and that less than helpful Archer talking away in my head, trying to talk me out of it, with Magus appearance and all. I was tempted to use a Command Seal to make him shut up, but I managed to stop myself in time. Of course I had taken another route to the Matou manor, I didn't want you to know what I was about to do._

 _I reached the Matou manor, and met Shinji as he was just coming out from the house. He was delighted to see me, thinking that I had accepted him. He was just about to open his slimy mouth when my fist connected with his nose. He fell down, clutching his bloodied nose, but he was ready with foul words to aim back at me. Archer managed to keep Rider busy, and you were not around, not to mention the maggot which cared about nothing except immortality. Shinji stood up fairly quickly, and without another word, I picked him up by the collar and threw him back into the house. His face lighted up when I closed the door behind us, that filthy scum, but he immediately panicked when he saw my fist glowing with Reinforcement spell._

 _Shinji tried to run, but I tackled him and rained blows on his face, and he kept begging for mercy. I healed him, and forced all the truth out from him. Your training, how he had always used you to satisfy his own pleasure. I hit him again and again, until he couldn't stand. Then I kicked him until he couldn't breathe. He laid there, a bloody pulp in his own pool of blood, whimpering like some baby. I could've killed him there and then, but that maggot appeared, and sneered at me. His familiars appeared in swarms. Knowing that I was not his opponent, I turned and left. The old man healed him, I know that much, because that piece of scum appeared at school again that day, and activated the bounded field._

 _Everyone was affected by it. After your brother fled after losing his Servant, I stayed at a distance from the Matou manor, always keeping an eye out for you. Hoping to catch a glimpse of you that could let me know that you were safe. A man, with golden hair and handsome features was always there as well. Do you know who he is? He was watching the Matou manor as well,but he always came and left very quickly. Then, Emiya came along and told me you were resting at home. I was relieved to hear the news. But I rejected the offer when he proposed that we should visit you._

 _I knew everything. The truth. That was why I said no. Call me a coward, I don't mind. I didn't want to meet you face to face, because I know I would only see hatred in your eyes, now that I know the truth. To put things simply, I don't have the guts. Where did the arrogant, confident Tohsaka Rin had disappeared to? I can't answer that, because I don't know the answer. The guilt, Sakura, it will eat at me until the moment I draw my final breath. I know I should live on, bearing your blame and hatred, for that, I'm sorry I have to leave you first. Though I really wanted to live on, to find a way to help you out from all that hell, to take the pain you'd suffered into myself. Again, I wanted to curl myself and cry, and curse my own damned existence for all the mistakes I'd made. I never showed my weakness to anyone. To them, I was the perfect school idol. Confident, beautiful, smart, and strong. How could someone like me break down? That's why, I often cried when I was at home and alone, throwing things around, shouting till my voice went hoarse, clawing at myself until I was covered in my own blood, the warm liquid we owe our lives to. Then I would heal myself and went through it again, and again, and again, hoping that somehow along the line, I could end the life of a pathetic girl named Tohsaka Rin. But I thought of you, who had been far, far stronger than I was, silently enduring all this torment, moving on with life, with hope that one day, you may be free from the shackles. That day is arriving even as you read this. Help is on the way, do not give up now._

 _Have you ever thought about how different our lives would've been if we weren't separated? Growing up together? Like how real sisters should be? I lost all that when I chose to live in ignorance and left you to hell. But I often wonder about it, and the thought was always able to soothe me to sleep, whenever I can't. Because clinging to that thought made me feel less empty than I thought, less lonely than I thought,after I lost everyone I held dear. Together, such a beautiful word, but I ruined everything. How wonderful it would be if we can just have one more day, one more hour, one more moment to be together, I will give everything, all that I have, even my life, to have this selfish dream fulfilled._

 _Have you ever had a moment of clarity? I know I do now, looking back at this life I had, all that I see now are mistakes and regrets. But, I will never have the chance to make amends. That's why, this is my one and only time to do so. I'm sorry your salvation came so late, it should have arrived sooner, but my powers and influence alone is not enough to give you the salvation you need. I needed help, that's why it took so long. And finally, after a week's worth of waiting, the reply had arrived. Bazett had returned with good news, and she will be with you to help you through with changes in life. She will be in my place, taking care of you until you are ready to stand on your own two feet._

 _I would like to tell you about the good news first. Tohsaka Sakura, seventh heiress of the Tohsaka clan, I wish you luck on your new journey. This is all I could give you now, the inheritance that you deserve. With me gone now, all the power, influence, wealth and knowledge are now yours to use. I trust that you will do great things with them. Along with this is the Tohsaka crest. You can't be the heiress without one, can you? I kept the crest in an ivory box in my room, the room we used to share back then. I've changed the identification matrix, don't worry. You will be able to enter, along with Emiya-kun and Bazett. Together with all those, is the title of Second Owner, which of course come together with the title of heiress._

 _Bazett will find you, you'll be able to know who she is, for she carries a letter with my seal. Listen to her, let her guide you, and leave for London. There, specialists will be available to help you. Though the suffering you'd endured will remain as scarred memories, at least soon you will finally be free of him forever. Along with the help of a powerful Wizard, I have been able to convince the Association to place a Sealing Designation on Zouken. If he tries anything, they will not hesitate to eliminate him. Freedom is yours, my dear sister. May you at least gain the happiness you deserve starting from now. I can no longer be there for you, Sakura, but I can still love you in death, is that okay? I know I should do more for you, to make up for the mistakes I'd made in my life. But my resources are limited, and there's nothing more I could do for you._

 _I'm glad I wrote this to you, Sakura. I really am. I will never hear your answer of course, because words do not reach the graves. But all that is not so important. What's important is that I realized my mistakes, and tried to correct them. The important part is that, I finally opened my arms to accept you again, into my arms, after such a long time. I'm glad I was at least given the chance to tell you all this, even if you think all this is just bullshit._

 _Sakura, I can't say there's no regrets in my life. A life without regret is one without a meaning. There's one regret in my life, and I don't want to leave without doing something about it. There's one question I had always wanted to ask you after I knew the truth, even before I knew the truth. Do yo hate me, Sakura? Do you hate me for leaving you? For never being there for you? For not caring, not visiting? Most importantly, do you hate me for not being your sister? This is the only answer I had hoped to hear from your lips, but I will never hear it of course._

 _Will you, perhaps, one day in the future, come to my grave? As I had said ,I will not ask for your tears, mourning or flowers. All I wanted from you is for you to see our mother's resting place, as a mother's love never ceases for her child. No matter where you were, to her, you were always her sweet little Sakura. She had always love you._

 _And Sakura? I truly wish to be able to hear you call me nee-san again, just like how you used to call me._

 _Love,_

 _Tohsaka Rin_

 _P.s Keep this to yourself. I wish for no one to know of this. Because, the words of the dead carry no meaning. They never did, they never will._

 _Present..._

With the cuff of one sleeve, Sakura wiped away the tears on her cheeks and at the corner of her eyes. She turned to the city, avoiding Rider's gaze. The envelope was still in her hands, now clutched to her bosom.

"Do you hate her?" Rider asked.

She shook her head slowly. " I... I never hated nee-san, never. I always held the belief that one day, she would save me from that hell. She did, just like how I had always hoped for. Though my salvation came with a price. I... I will never see her again. I will never be able to speak to her, to tell her how grateful, how happy I am."

Rider smiled sadly. "You must make sure that your sister did not die in vain. That she will not be simply remembered or forgotten as a victim who fell to that tool."

"I know, that's why I'm back, to end things for once and for all. I will make sure nee-san is the final victim to this ridiculous war." Sakura said resolutely. " You will help me, right, Rider?"

The Heroic Spirit blinked in surprise. "Of course I will. That's why I answered your pact ten years ago as well,is it not? To help you, protect you, my Master..."

"Well, well, things should be messy here, or should I say interesting?" The woman remarked in a sing-song voice, as she stood atop a communication tower to the left of where the duo was. Her red cloak rippled and billowed in the night wind, her aquamarine eyes glimmering behind her glasses.

The sixth Holy Grail War had begun.

* * *

Behind the scene...

Caster : What do you think about Tohsaka's new image?

Rider :She looks stunning!

Illya : Yeah, she's beautiful.

Caster : Archer? What's your comment on your Master's new image?

Archer : Err...wow?

Caster : Just 'wow'? No other words to say?

Illya : I think the cat caught his tongue.

Rider : Agreed. What he wanted to say was,"OMG! You're hot, Rin!"

Caster : Is that true, Archer?

Archer : Err...

Rin : Girls, please. Poor Archie. You girls are bullying him.

Illya : Ooh... Archer's blushing!

Caster : Are you guys coupling?

Rider : I want to know too.

Rin : Hey, how about we invite the 2S over tonight?

All : Rin, don't change the topic!

By : Caster Medea Nightraven

 **A/N (R.T):**

Hey everyone,author here. I'm glad you decide to take time off your busy schedule to read this little story of mine. It is my first serious fic that I decide to post,so do be gentle about it.

And a little note for you all. This may be a little similar with the letter series another person had wrote. The truth is, this chapter is actually inspired by it. Thank you once again for the beautiful letters. They really touched me. For those who had not read it, I strongly recommend the story to you all. It is really worth your time reading it. Though inspired by it, as you all can see, this story is going in an entirely different direction.

About the story, it is set after UBW, with Rin dead and Sakura as the new head of the family. Don't worry, Shirou will get his chance in the next chapter, I promise you that. Do review to let me know whether you guys would love to see FZ Servant characters back in action. So I can decide how to progress with future plot line or my next fic. And to say the truth, personally, I would love to see them back in action.

Here, I would also like to thank some of my closest friends, mainly Luvia, who helped me to post this fic and Caster Medea Nightraven, who always has great ideas for BTS. I really must salute them. They've helped in me in any way possible even when they're super busy. Thank you ance again, Luvia and Caster.

So, about the mysterious woman, I think you all can guess who she is, right? She's not that hard to guess after all. Feel free to make your guesses and tell me in your reviews.

And for those who have no idea who 2S is referring to, they're Shirou and Saber.

Last but not least, please leave me reviews and constructive criticisms, as they keep me going. Till next time then.

\- **Tohsaka Rin**


	2. Chapter 2

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

 **P/N (SPR):** Hello there, everyone~ Damn.. this writer sure do write fast. Well, one of her many unique traits anyway. Nevertheless, the amazing **Tohsaka Rin** or should I say... **fatearcher** (do check out her profile!) has done it again! Let's get the show going, shan't we?

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **Saudi Arab**

Emiya Shirou wiped away the sweat at his brow and sighed. His backpack felt heavier than it was an hour ago. Not that he was complaining or anything. Inside it were some things he hoped would cheer the children up a little. He was heading to a little village where they had little contact with the outside world, and was suffering both physically and mentally due to the harsh condition they were living.

True, he was no longer striving towards a Hero of Justice who wanted to save everyone. People from ten years ago had awaken him from his ideals. His ideals were flawed. It was not wrong for him for wanting to be a Hero of Justice. However, there was no way he could save everyone. All he needed to do was to help as much as he could, but without hurting him in the process. He understood now, that only by being alive himself, could he save more people, to actually help more of those who needed him. That was his way of becoming a hero now.

He stood up straight and squinted into the horizon. Amid the blazing heat, he could make out the shape of a village. _Just a few more hours of hike away..._ He took another step forward, and something dropped from his pocket. He bent down, and saw a very familiar red pendant. Shirou picked it up, and carefully dusted the sand off it. There was still some mana in it, but it was clearly insufficient to even perform a simple spell.

 _Tohsaka..._

His mind automatically wandered to the girl who saved his life. He never understood why someone like Tohsaka would waste such a powerful piece of jewellery to save him, who was a complete nobody at the time. If she had left him to his fate, then wouldn't it save her the trouble of killing him later in the war? To her, a Magus seeking the so called omnipotent wishing tool, didn't it mean leaving another Magus in the area dead reduces the chances of having to meet him or her in a life and death battle after saving the person's life? He never asked, and neither will he ever get the answer. But he did know that Sakura knew the question to the answer, because she had asked him about the pendant once.

He had offered to return the pendant to her as a memento of her deceased sister, but she had refused, saying that she had received something much more previous than that. That he, who was saved, should be the one to carry the pendant to remind himself not to waste the life he was once again given. She had said that Rin's sacrifice in the war should be remembered by all those who knew about the existence of it, and that her sacrifice would not be in vain.

The young boy had immediately understood the meaning of his junior. She was about to embark on a journey of revenge. He had tried to talk her out of it, but she was determined to have her sister's death avenged.

Tohsaka Rin was no more. Except for Illya, who was killed by Gilgamesh, she was the only other victim of the war. Nobody knew whether she was still alive, or was she really dead, as they find no corpse nor a living body at the battle grounds. It was as if she had never existed. But her younger sister, who came as a surprise to him when he knew, was sure that her sister was no more, and with reasons she refused to share.

"Ouch..." He groaned in pain as he felt a familiar searing pain on the back of his hand. He looked at it, already knowing what was going to appear. Sure enough, the three Command Seals appeared there, marking him once more as a participant in a ritual in the far east of the world. "Well, here we go again..."

* * *

 **Paris Catacombs**

With another sweep of her hand, Luviagelita Edelfelt sent another pack of ghouls down. The familiars howled before finally turning to dust, and settled down around her. The blonde snorted, and threw away the used gems, taking out a new batch from her pocket. Almost immediately, another pack pounced on her out of nowhere, and she casted a spell in German before throwing the gems at the pack.

Without any hint of fear, the ghouls charged straight on, and got a full hit in the face as the gems exploded in various colours according to the type of precious stones they were. The ghouls immediately disintegrated into dust before they could make a sound. A few of them survived, as they were slow when the pack made the rash decision of challenging her straight on.

 _Not that they have any brains in them anyway..._

Behind her, the atmosphere changed as she felt the presence of a powerful being. She turned around, and came face to face with a handsome young man, no more than twenty years old. But one look at his eyes told the trained mercenary he wasn't any ordinary Human. Those crimson red eyes were malevolent and blood thirsty and she could feel him dragging and digging at her soul even at a distance.

He bowed, his dark blue robes rustling as he did so. When he spoke, he had a very charming voice, one that every woman would've fall for, including her. Only her level of Magic Resistance allowed her to stay awake.

"My name is Easlan." He said, and she could see his sharp canine teeth protruding from his upper lips. "I am sorry for the trouble my Servants have caused you. They are quite undisciplined at times."

Luvia smirked, and took her stance. She wasn't going to take any chances. _This guy's good, I'll give him that at least._ "Oh? Are you trying to say that there is absolutely nothing to do with you?"

Easlan shook his head in denial. "That wasn't what I meant, young miss. What I mean it that they should give you a proper welcoming. After all, it's impolite to leave the guest standing on the ground when they are just bugs which should be pinned down, correct?"

When his last words fell, packs came in from the front and back. This time, she even spotted a few higher ranked vampires among them. _Shit, he's going all out!_ Luvia cursed in German and cast her only five count aria, and a bounded field formed around her. The lower ranked ghouls immediately disintegrated with a howl, while the vampires retreated with injured limbs. Once the bounded field lose their power, they immediately charged once more. Her crest and magic circuits light up as she reinforced her body for physical combat.

"Don't have the idea that Magus know how to cast spells only. Nowadays, even martial art is important!" With an incoherent battle cry, she punched the vampire nearest to her and sent it crumbling into dust. Another kick from her, and two more went down like rag dolls.

"Interesting..." Easlan murmured as he watched on. With a wave from one hand, more of his familiars showed up.

Without any fear, she charged into the middle of the pack, punching and kicking her way through them as she pulled several gems from her pockets, chanting a spell. A sword buzzed over her head, missing her by an inch, and she turned to see a higher ranking vampire swinging a bone sword around like some sort of toy. More of its kind emerged, and she aimed the gems at them, blowing them into bits and pieces before they finally settled down as dusts. Her attack took out several of the lower ranked familiars too, and now their pack was snarling, ready to sink their bloodthirsty fangs into her.

Luvia cursed in German, as the man summoned up more ghouls. Though she was confident in her own abilities as a Magus, that was a little bit over her head. She was ready to give up, and fight the best she could until she die when she saw lights at the end of the tunnel. She smiled at him, and with a startled expression, turned to see more Magus closing in, cleansing flames which were blue in colour ready to be thrown.

He turned to the blonde and hiss. " **I WILL MAKE SURE YOU ALL SUFFER BEFORE YOU DIE!"**

"Make sure it's fun then." With another cry, she charged towards the nearest pack of ghouls, and the rest of the team joined her.

* * *

 **Clock Tower**

Bazett Fraga McRemitz watched in mix awe and surprised at her childhood hero in front of her who gobbled steak down faster than she could cast a spell. Just like how the legends had claimed he would be, Ireland's Son of Light was a bestial man in his own way. His blue hair, crimson red eyes, to his finely toned body, Bazett found no flaw in the man before her. In fact, she found him quite adorable.

"Nice..." He commented, as he wolfed down another steak, the sauce dribbling down his chin. He wiped it away from a hand and gulped down the wine. "Never thought that future would have something like this."

Bazett leaned back in her chair and sighed, silently regarding Lancer who was acting like a tourist instead of a warrior. She couldn't blame him though. After all, the Grail War had yet to begin, and even if it had already begun, they were thousands of miles away from Fuyuki.

"You know, Lancer, you're here to fight." She remarked rather lamely.

He opted to put down his fork and took things seriously. "Yeah, I'm aware of that. That's the reason I answered your summoning, remember?"

She blushed, and look away. "Flatterer..."

Lancer laughed good humourously. "Well, people normally say that I'm a womanizer, and I concede the point. Putting that aside, how's your arm?"

"Oh, this?" She waved her stump. "Never mind it. I can fight even with one hand, so don't you worry about it. What about you, Lancer? Any confidence? Or anything worth you looking forward to?"

He thought about the question, and finally answered with a toothy grin. "Yeah, there was this one girl whom I asked to come back to me once she had a few more years on her. Wonder how's she's doing now."

Bazett stuttered, and blushed. "Lancer!" She said quite sharply, and the Servant of the Spear laughed at the sight. After a moment of calming herself down, she asked. "I'm curious to know the name of the young lady who seemed to catch your attention. She might become a potential threat to our pact."

"Well, don't be. I'm quite loyal to my lord once my pact is sealed. If not for the existence of the Command Seals, I would've killed that rabid dog back then." He said with a growl, but his expression immediately softened. "As for the little missy I talked about, I think she goes by the name Tohsaka Rin."

Bazettt's eyes widened at the name. "Tohsaka you say?" She asked in confirmation.

"Yeah, quite a charming little girl. Pig-tailed black hair, glimmering aquamarine eyes. My type idea where she is now?"

She averted his gaze. "Rin...she passed on ten years ago."

"What?!" Lancer exclaimed, shocked to his feet. "How? When? Where? Why? Who?"

"It's...it's a long story." She answered.

Lancer sat down again, and shrugged. "Well, fortunately for us, time is the only thing we have before the stupid war begin."

* * *

 **Ryuudou Temple**

Again, Ryuudou Temple was her choice of base. The mountain was situated on top of one of the major leylines in the city. And as a Caster, she's only formidable if she was able to set up a really good base. Though there were other places like the mountain, the locations weren't as secluded as this one. One was the Tohsaka manor, which of course she would keep her distance away from. The other was the church, but she had some... bad encounters back there, so she was quite unwilling to return to the place. And the final place was a park.

 _What kind of Magus set up her workshop somewhere that open?_ She thought to herself as she swept through the corridors in the temple. Monks eyed her with a weird look, but mental interference did the trick, and the monks went on with their daily routines. Sensing mana signatures from a nearby room, she headed towards the direction, and sure enough, she found her young Master, trying to persuade a monk to let him out from the temple grounds.

"Master, I thought I told you to stay in your room?" Caster asked softly.

The boy turned to look at her and crossed his arms. Dark black hair, swept over one eye. His eyes were dark brown. Though he was young, barely thirteen, his body was well trained and he had fairly good muscles. Currently, he was dressed in a black T-shirt and over it a black jacket, along with a pair of black pants and black sport shoes. Caster had thought his taste in clothes to be rather, weird.

 _Black all over. What's wrong with this boy and black?_

"Stay out of my business, woman." He said acidly.

Caster on the other hand, didn't seem to be offended. She asked to the monk to leave them, and immediately after the monk left, her face turned black. "I can't actually stay out of it, if things concern you. Because if you die, I disappear too."

Akabane Shinichi merely snorted. "I don't give a damn over the cup you spirits are fighting for. If you want to fight, don't drag me into it, though I don't mind supplying you with mana to keep you going."

She bowed. "Thank you for your generosity, Master. However, I must insist that you stay within the temple grounds for the time being, for it is easier for me to guard you here."

Shinichi waved, dismissing the idea, and turned away. "No, I'm not staying in this junk yard without any Wi-Fi access."

Inwardly, Caster groaned. _Since when are Magus so obsessed with modern technology? Have magus in the Age of Human sunken so low they had to rely on those mundane toys?_

"Master, it's just two weeks..." She began to say, but the boy turned around and shouted in her face.

" **TWO WEEKS**?!" He shouted angrily. "You expect me to stay here for two weeks? Not a chance. I need to go to school, I need to hang out with my friends, and most importantly, I can't survive without my phone being connected to the Internet!"

Caster sighed. "But Master, your safety is my top priority."

"Still, I refuse to stay here. Unless you do something about me being able to go on with my normal life while I'm stuck to you, then my answer will remain as no."

The Servant of the Spell sighed again. _This is going to be a long night..._

* * *

"Servant Assassin, at your service." Sasaki Kojirou greeted in a monotone as he coolly regarded the man who managed to summon him aside from the witch.

His Master was tall and lean in stature, his features seemed to be chiselled out from stone, his face cleanly shaven, his eyes glowed sea blue, his golden hair stood up like a blazing flame, much like that man, Gilgamesh. The only significant difference was that this one had no crimson eyes or a thorny attitude which could rub people in the wrong way.

"Assassin huh? I was hoping for a Saber." When he spoke, his voice was deep and commanding.

 _What's with Magus and their obsession with the Saber class? I know that technically the Saber class is the strongest; however, there might be exceptions to it._

Assassin bowed in respect once more. "Do hear me out, my Master. I may have been summoned in the Assassin class, but my swordsmanship is on par with a Saber class Servant."

His Master, whom he had yet to know his name, sat down on a nearby chair and crossed in legs. "Oh? Do not jest me, you mongrel. Who do you think you are? Even if you claim to be on par with a Saber, stat wise you have already lost. Do you seriously think that a mere Servant of the Shadow can be on par of _real_ swordsman?"

Assassin gritted his teeth in anger. _And now he is seriously behaving like that golden boy._ "Master, have you no faith in me? The man whom you summoned to get the Holy Grail for you? Must you disgrace with such words before you have even seen my strength?"

He laughed. "What did you just say? That I don't know of your strength? It is because I know about the full potential of the fictional man named Sasaki Kojirou, that I wish for such a man to be summoned into the Saber class? There's no other class more fitting to a swordsman like you."

He smiled this time. "What? You thought I was trying to offend you? Do not think of such a thing, my Servant. My choice of words may hurt at times, but please be assured that I want the best for you. Besides, it was just a test for me to know whether your loyalty will lie with me. After all, I enter this war to fight other people, not to be killed by my own summoned ally."

He bowed again. "Your name, my lord?"

"Nobunaga Karma. I look forward to working with you."

* * *

Jubstacheit von Einzbern sat at the head of the table, chairing the family meeting. The elders gathered around the table all spoke in hushed tones and worried expressions, as they had never seen so many combat homunculi gathered in the meeting room with full battle gear on.

"Silence."Jubstacheit's deep voice sounded, and everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to the head of the family. "As you all know, the next Heaven's Feel will be starting soon. In the previous war, we lost one of our best homunculus, and yet the war was a complete lost. From all the information we had been gathering, it concludes that the cause of our defeat is due to our lack of ability in the combat field. Therefore, things must take a serious change from now."

One of the elders raised his hand. "Lord Acht, have we no tried out the option? In the fourth war, we hired a man who was adept in killing Magus, much to our dislike, and even letting him become part of the family. Yet he failed to bring us the Holy Grail, even destroying more than half of the city in his quest."

He nodded. "I concede the point. That's why, we Einzberns will only depend on Einzberns. We will attain Third Magic with our own hand, with our own strength. There is no need for us to rely on outsiders."

"Lord Acht, I'm sorry, but what I will say is a fact. Differing from the other two Founding Family, our family is adept only in alchemy, that is the reason we chose to involve ourselves in Atlas rather than the Clock Tower. Besides, there's no time to train or make more combat homunculi."

Jubstacheit nodded once more at the point. "You are right in a way. There is no time to build up more combat power. But what if we already have one that is on par with proficient Magus?"

Hushed whisperings broke out, and he allowed it to stop before he continued. "From the information we have gathered from the past Grail Wars, we have sufficient intelligence to make a high resistant homunculus, one that is able to withstand many injuries, and with auto-regenerating ability so long as mana still circulates in the body. Furthermore, from the losses of countless combat homunculi over the centuries, we too have been able to gather much data on combat, and plant all these into the mind of our best homunculus made yet."

The great oaken door opened without a sound and a striking young man stepped into the room. Tall, young, titanium-blond hair, ruby red eyes. He was not dressed in formal regalia of an Einzbern, or the full armour of a combat homunculus. He was dressed in simple black attire, just like how the assassin they had hired. But the power the elders felt was much more than any combat homunculi they had made.

"Ferdinand von Einzbern, our best creation yet. Together with the combat homunculi, he will bring us victory."

The homunculus bowed in respect to the assembled elders.

* * *

Emiya Shirou double checked the magic circle he had drawn earlier, and satisfied that there was no mistake in it. He stepped into the magic circle and began his chant, the hand boring the Command Seal outstretched.

"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat it five times. And as each is fulfilled, it must be destroyed."

In Germany, under the watchful eyes of the family elders, Ferdinand performed the summoning. The catalyst was a piece of stone slab, the same catalyst used by Illyasviel von Einzbern ten years ago.

"A foundation of silver and iron. Above it rests the cornerstone and the great Archduke of Contracts. Above them, my ancestor, the great Master Schweinorg. Become the wall that repels the gale. The four gates close tightly. Now burst forth from the crown. And follow the winding path that leads the three forked kingdom."

* * *

Meanwhile, Luvia began her summoning as well. Without a catalyst, she hoped to summon a Servant aligned to her.

"I call to thee. Thy body, borne of my will. My fate, resting on your sword. If thou will bend to my will, my justice, heed the Grail's call and give your answer."

* * *

Shirou's magic circle lighted up. "I swear before you. I will become all the good of this world, and I will eradicate all the evil in the world."

* * *

Ferdinand narrowed his eyes at the light. "Seven Heavens, clad in the three holy souls, cast your shackles aside and come forth, Guardian of the Scales."

The magic circle flared up in a brilliant light, and Heroic Spirits who answered the call stood before their respective Masters.

A massive giant, with bulging muscles, holding a giant sword axe, which looked more like a piece of stone slab, and emanating a blood-thirsty lust stood before Ferdinand. The Servant's roared sent ripples of energy into the air. Hercules, the divine hero, summoned into the Berserker class.

* * *

A certain Heroic Spirit with tanned skin, silver eyes and white hair, with red and black armour stood in the middle of a summoning circle, looking very much shocked by the one who summoned him. A blonde, with a little resemblance to Tohsaka Rin.

* * *

Emerging from the summoning circle was a young blonde with emerald green eyes. She was dressed in a blue war dress, and clad in silver armour. In her right hand, the wind swirled, hiding away the sword which would give away her identity. The air of royalty that surrounded her was different from what he had felt ten years ago. King Arthur had found her truth path in her kingship. "I ask of you, are you my Master?"

* * *

 **BTS...**

Rin: I missed this series.

Caster: Oh ho? You missed the series or you missed **the guy** in the series?

Rin: *blushed* Why you..., Caster!

Lancer: Oh God, why must you tease her so, Caster dear?

Caster: *grins* I love seeing her blush.

Rin: Wh-what?

Saber: Indeed, Tohsaka's blushing.

Caster: Saber-chan!

Shirou: Hey, hey.

Rin: Shirou?

Lancer: *sigh* Here we go again. Another reunion.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Hi guys! So here we are again, at the end of another chapter. So, first of all, another thanks to my publisher, **SPR** , for taking her time out for publishing and updating this fic. I love you, cousin. Second, my dear friend Caster for her BTS. Thank you both for taking time off to help me. Next, a token of gratitude to those who reviewed, followed and favourited this. Thank you very much for the motivation, I'll do my best on this fic.

On to the main point, so this is basically about the background of those who are joining the war, so you all have a insight to their personalities first. Next chapter will feature some action, probably with Lancer in it. He always take the lead, and I intend to keep that up.

Last but not least, please R&R. Thanks, and see you all next time!

\- **Tohsaka Rin.**


	3. Chapter 3

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ANY REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"What do you mean, you don't know your name?!" Luvia exploded, her cheeks flaring up in anger at the man he summoned. Sure, he was handsome, and made great tea, but all that didn't matter when the blasted fool told her that he didn't know his own name.

"What kind of a Heroic Spirit are you?! How can someone just land in my house, and tell me he doesn't have any idea who he is?! Ugh, I can't believe something like this actually happened." Luvia palmed her face in exasperation.

Meanwhile, Archer chuckled inwardly at the sight and sat down opposite her, leaning back in the chair he was sitting on, legs crossed. "Master, I believe that my identity is not an issue at the moment. After all, I do remember how to use my skills and abilities. That will suffice, and I assure you, it will be more than enough for us to win this war."

Luvia glared at him. "If I don't know who you are, then how am I supposed to formulate a strategy? As an Archer, you are formidable in long range combat, but once you are cornered, or the geology is not suited to your style of fighting, we will be defeated easily. Therefore, I must know your identity for me to come up with a sure win strategy."

 _'Sheesh, she_ _'s definitely Rin's cousin. They are identical in almost every way. Cranky, hot-headed, unreasonable. Well, not really unreasonable, but Magus and their obsession... It really gives me a terrible headache at times. Not that I will tell either one of them of course. I don_ _'t want to get kicked off the game this fast,' thought Archer, bemused._

Archer uncrossed his legs, and leaned over to the front, and silently poured out another cup of tea, adding a cube of sugar and some cream, then silently stirred while gazing at his own reflection. "Luvia, have you no faith in your own abilities? In your abilities as a Magus? As a Master?"

She stood up in anger, her Command Seals flashing urgently. "Say that again, you lousy ingrate, and there will be hell to pay. Do not forget the simple fact that I can simply bend you to my will whenever I want. Watch your tongue, or I will not hesitate to use one of these on you, Archer."

He smiled, raising his hands in surrender. _'No matter which world I go, Luvia always acts like Rin, if I know the right button to push, and if she gets close to the latter. And to hell with Alaya, why am I summoned by this blonde? Not that I_ _'m complaining or anything. But then again... If Rin sees me, then I must prepare to die a painful death. Then again, make that a very painful one.'_

"Luvia, you must have faith in your own abilities. Besides, my lack of memories has nothing to do with your summoning. As you know, the Throne of Heroes exist out of the time axis, so summoned Servants do not necessarily come from the past. I am one of the exceptions. Luvia, I come from the future, this much I know, that is why my memories have been sealed away. Apparently, someone didn't want me to create any time paradox here." He explained it as if it was a matter of fact. In his case, it was half true, but he wasn't going to let anyone know that.

"Hmm..." Luvia mused while sipping her tea. "Well, I suppose I can only work things out after you've demonstrated your powers... Something on your mind, Archer?"

The white haired Servant merely shook his head in denial, though he was thinking about something, or rather someone else, to be specific.

 _'Rin, I wonder who you_ _'d summon for this war, and when we do meet eventually, will we be able to harden our hearts to kill each other off?'_

The Holy Grail War ten years ago made him realize that his ideals were flawed in a way, but it was important that he held true to it. Because that was how Emiya Shirou should be like. That was who he was. A boy who wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, to become a Hero of Justice. The heart to help others was right, it has always given him joy whenever he could lend a helping hand, but drowning in his own ideals in his past life had cost him both his life and the future of his wife.

Counter Guardian EMIYA could remember the day so well as if things had happened just yesterday.

* * *

 **Flashback begins...**

Emiya Shirou, in his early forties, sat dejectedly at the corner of his cell. He had grown to his full potential, and due to extensive use of magic, his height had spurted a lot, and his skin darkened while his hair bleached. Now, his hands were bound by shackles that sealed off his circuits, and he was left with nothing except his clothes. They even took away his pendant, the only thing that could remind him of his wife.

He wanted to laugh at the state he was in now. All those decades ago, he was just a boy who survived the fire which took everything from him. His family, his memories, even his name. Emiya Shirou was not his real name. Emiya was the name of the man who saved him from the fire and brought him up as his own son. Shirou was the name given to the boy with a new life, a new future. A bright future ahead, if he had not destroyed it with his own hands.

Shirou grew up under the care of Emiya Kiritsugu, his foster father and the mundane allies of the Emiya clan, Fujimura. To young Shirou, that was too much for him to ask. He was supposed to die back then in the fire, just like everyone else who did. But he was singled out and saved by that black-haired man. Kiritsugu brought him up like a son, teaching him things like ideals and magic. However, Kiritsugu himself was unable to cast any spells after the conclusion of the previous war, thus he never learned the truth that the boy he took in was a special one.

Aligned Affinity and Origin.

Emiya Shirou was the embodiment of a concept.

A few years later, Kiritsugu died under the curse of the Angra Mainyu, and he never told Shirou about the Holy Grail which took everything from them. He did leave one thing for his son, and that was the ideal of wanting to be a Hero of Justice.

Shirou lived on after Kiritsugu's demise with the heart to help as many people as he could, even if it meant putting himself at potential risk. To him, someone who was saved when all others were left to perish, the survivor's guilt ate at him. He felt that the only thing he could do to make amends for running away all those years ago was to help as many people as he could now, no matter what it took.

Help others. That was the only thing he knew of, the ideals his father had passed to him. An unfulfilled dream, and he wanted to fulfill it for him. That was why, he blindly chased after his visions, even when he knew he would die trying. His father had saved him using magic, he knew he could save others as well. But... He felt it wasn't enough, saving one person wasn't enough. If Kiritsugu had used all of his powers, could he have saved everyone who was caught in the fire? Could it have changed things?

If his father had no realized the true potential of saving people with magic, then as his son, shouldn't he be running down that path to see how far he could go?

That's why, Emiya Shirou spent his life in pursuit of that dream, the shore he believed he could reach but never did, and never will.

After high school, he wedded Tohsaka Rin, the one and only woman who loved him. She tried to talk him out of it, even before they got married. She knew how he would end up in the end because she had seen Archer's memories, but he was too stubborn to listen to anyone. A few years into their marriage, Shirou left Rin, much to her anger and disappointment, at the Clock Tower, while he traveled around the world helping people, never returning to her. Not even a letter, not even a word.

But, he was never able to save everyone. With every life saved, there was always life left to perish. With every soul he saved, the corpses of those he didn't pile up. He was devastated. He needed a miracle to work things out, that's why he gave his afterlife to Alaya, to serve as her pet murderer because that was the only way he could live up to his ideals. It was the only way he could think of at that time where he could save people forever.

Then, the betrayal came. He was accused of causing the war between the two countries, and his fellow comrades left him alone and fled for their lives. The Association came, with Ciel from the Burial Agency, and arrested him, brought him before a court. Sure enough, the court stood in favor of the Association, and Emiya Shirou was to be hanged. They took away his belongings, shackled him, and left him in the dark cell, until the day when he would be executed.

"Shirou..."

That sweet, gentle voice broke him out from his reverie and he lifted his head to see his wife standing outside the bars, with two Enforcers beside her. They left with a wave of her hand, but Shirou knew they would be close by. He scrambled to the bars and reached out both hands to touch his wife's cheeks. He had never imagined that their reunion would be at a place like this, in this kind of conditions.

"Rin, I miss you..." He murmured, taking her all in. He knew, that this would be the last time he would ever see her again. Her long luxurious hair and aquamarine eyes were just like how he had remembered. Only her cheeks were more shallow and there were dark smudges under the eyes. She seemed to be much thinner than he had remembered. He could not imagine what she had gone through in the years when he had left her alone.

Rin gently touched her husband's cheek, a stray tear found its way down her own. "Wait for me, I will save you." She pressed the pendant, which was taken away from him, into his hands. With that, she stood up and left.

He never saw her again, and she would forever be his greatest regrets.

* * *

Ferdinand von Einzbern watched on neutrally as his team of combat homunculi engaged the enemy Servant. The blue haired Lancer cut through the lowest rank with ease, but the next rank was more of a challenge to him. The Lancer, however, seemed to enjoy himself, thrusting and slashing down his homunculi. Ferdinand looked on and felt nothing for those who had fallen.

 _'There are chess pieces to Lord Acht, nothing more... And so am I...'_

A gauntleted fist aimed for his face, but he easily dodged it, stepping one step behind, at the same time pulling out his sheathed long sword and brought it up in an upward slash. Bazett raised her gauntlet to it, and brought up one leg, and kneed the homunculus in the stomach. Ferdinand staggered backward and slashed his sword out once more.

Even though one hand was stumped at the wrist, she had special gauntlets made to compensate for the lost. With her natural fighting skills, either with the use one hand or both, she was a feared fighter among the Enforcers.

"Are you looking down on us, Einzbern?" She asked mockingly while dodging his blows.

Ferdinand pulled distance between them and lowered his word. "Me?"

"Don't fool around with me!" She roared, her gauntlets lighting up dangerously and she rushed at him with all the speed her reinforced legs could carry her. It made a direct contact with his sword, but with inhuman strength, Ferdinand pushed back and punched her in the chest, bringing up his leg with a swipe to her midsection and slashed his sword down in a huge arc.

Bazett cursed, and barely avoided the slash. The sword made a small cut on her cheek,and a trickle of blood ran down. Ferdinand took his stance and charged forward once more, his sword held low,but the Enforcer chose to jumped back, mouthing a spell. A ball of raw mana was released, but the homunculus merely used his sword to cut down the mana, leaving the Enforcer gaping in shock.

With the momentary pause on her part, Ferdinand once again charged forward, his sword gleaming with power, and she could feel the mana pouring out from the sword. ' _Einzbern alchemy...didn't know they would be capable of this...'_ The sword made contact with her gauntlet,and it cracked a little. She cursed, and threw a fist at his face, but he calmly caught it with one hand and squeezed it until he heard bones breaking.

The Enforcer hissed in pain and pulled distance once Ferdinand released his grip. He didn't make any movements as to follow up his attacks, but rather, he stood there, sword lowered, and waited for her to cast a swift healing spell.

"What are you?!" She demanded. "Vessel of the Grail should not have such combat abilities. You Einzberns had already demonstrated your weakness in direct combat since the first war."

Ferdinand sheathed his sword. "If you ask me that question, all that I can say is it ,we homunculi in the Einzbern family is nothing but pawns to Lord Acht."

"Pawns ...you say?"

He nodded in affirmation. "We are created to carry out his orders. That is all." He paused. "Now, I must get serious. Berserker, kill them all..."

A deafening roar resounded at the same moment five bounded fields fell into place. The air behind him shook, and revealed a colossal, statue-like man, also can be described as a black giant. The Servant gave off the impression of a monster. His huge sword ax held in one hand emanated blood lust. His body turned a dangerous shade of red, and Bazett was already on the run.

Lancer took one look at the giant and grinned in amusement. "So you managed to get albino boy's Servant out, eh?"

"Shut up and kill that thing already!" Bazett snapped in anger. She turned and took a defensive stance as Lancer stood in front of her protectively, lance raised to the monster.

Berserker roared and swung his weapon down hard. Lancer managed to hold it, but the force was enough to send the ground cracking and cratering beneath his feet. He smirked, and with his agility, moved away from beneath his sword and launched a fresh attack from behind. The giant merely swung his sword behind in anger, and the spearman jumped away, whistling in approval.

Lancer grinned and stabbed at the giant who merely accepted his blows, the red demonic spear bouncing off his torso. He swung his stone slab around, with Lancer jumping away from the deadly slab, and closing in on another round of attack. Another roar from Berserker, shaking the air, and the massive giant brought his sword down, and Lancer held the slab with his spear, the spear bending under the massive force. Again, the ground cracked beneath his feet, and debris flew around wildly. Berserker howled again, and brought his slab up, then quickly slashed it down again. Lancer's eyes widened in shock, and the slab connected with him, slamming him hard into the ground.

"Lancer!" Bazett called in a worried tone and gave Ferdinand the chance to close the distance to land a shallow cut on her arm. She turned in rage to find the homunculus jumping away, circling her with his sword jabbing the air.

Meanwhile, Berserker reached a hand into the crater and brought up a bruised but in one piece Lancer, who took the advantage to thrust his spear in his face. The Greek hero grabbed the Irish spearman by the spear and slammed him into the ground, bringing him up and repeating the same process.

Lancer gritted his teeth in anger and hissed. "I'm not a rag doll, you gigantic moron!" His tone was of pure rage, and he released his grip on his spear, rolling away from him and crashing into Bazett, who tumbled over in shock.

"Aw..." Lancer groaned, getting up to his feet and helping Bazett up. He couldn't stop himself from grinning at the sight of his flushed Master. "Cute face you got there."

Bazett groped for words and failed. She raised her head to meet his gaze, but he pushed her roughly to a side. A moment later, the stone slab crashed into the ground they stood on earlier, with Lancer somersaulting through the air, taking his lance back, which was thrown aside by the mad warrior.

"You're good, big guy. If only you were a Saber, then this fight would surely be something memorable, though of course, I would forget all about it, unless I am summoned once more by this wonderful woman."

As an answer, the massive giant let out an incoherent battle roar and charged towards the Servant in blue with his maximum agility. Once again, he swung his weapon hard, relying on pure strength, but Lancer was faster, and he leaped onto the weapon, thrusting the weapon in his face. However, the demonic red spear merely bounced off the giant's skin with ease.

Lancer continued to jab his weapon at the giant, but he did not even parry or dodge any of them

Berserker raised a hand to grab the spearman, but Lancer thrust his spear at the hand and using the repulsion to jump away from the giant. "Oi, Bazett, this fool's a stone. I can't even draw a drop of blood from him.

Bazett, who was busy fending off Ferdinand's attacks, wrinkled her eyebrows in annoyance at the remark. The Einzbern Master took the opportunity to land a cut on the Enforcer's side and quickly backed off to a defensive stance as Bazett's gauntlets glowed a dangerous red color.

 _'Finish Berserker off now. I don_ _'t wish for him to trouble us any longer in the future, whoever he may be.'_

 _'That means, I_ _'m allowed to use my Noble Phantasm?'_ His thoughts slipped into her mind.

Bazett allowed herself a small smile. _'Fight him to your heart_ _'s content, Lancer. ... Because, that is all you have ever wanted from the Holy Grail.'_

From the telepathic link, she could feel him smirking as he deflected another of Berserker's onslaught. _'As you command, my Master...'_

Though he was thrilled to fight such a strong opponent, but not being able to land even a single scratch on his opponent was nothing but frustrating. But then again, even if he was allowed to use his Noble Phantasm, it required at least a few seconds to charge and invoke it.

 _'With this insane giant as my opponent, I don_ _'t even have time to call out its name.'_

As Lancer was thinking things through, a light sailed over the Fuyuki night sky and hit Berserker before exploding. ' _A Broken Phantasm?'_ He continued to watch as the dust settled from the explosion and revealed a broken weapon which began to dissipate into mana.

 _'No, this is no Broken Phantasm. Then, what is it?'_

He turned his head to the direction the weapon came from, and spotted a Servant in red, lowering a black bow. _'Archer...'_ Lancer's smile widened at the sight, but his Master's next move was like splashing a pail of cold water onto his face.

 _'Lancer, retreat. We are in no condition to fight two Servants on our own, and that_ _'s aside the fact that my gauntlets need repairs after the fight with the Einzbern guy.'_

He cursed his ill luck and moved to grab his Master before leaving the scene with all the speed he was capable of.

Archer watched on neutrally as the Irishman and his Master left the scene. His bow dissipated into mana, and his molten gray eyes were focused on the Einzbern Master. He gladly ignored the Servant, as he already knew who the Servant was. The Master, however, was something new to him.

 _'A swordsman? From what I had gathered just now during their fight, he is no ordinary combat homunculus.'_

"Servant over there, do you wish to fight without your Master alongside you or to retreat for now?" The albino asked.

Archer smirked, and placed a hand on his hip."Oh? Is this mercy I hear from a fellow enemy? Quite amusing. Do you think that I stand no chance against your Hercules?" He was enjoying the look of surprise on his face, but he did not let that show.

"How? How do you know his name?" Ferdinand asked with a straight face.

"That is not important, lad," Archer replied, avoiding the subject. "However, I have no intention of fighting you now, as I came here on my own volition."

With that, the Servant of the Bow disappeared into a shower of red, leaving behind a confused Ferdinand and a silent Berserker.

* * *

"Where did you go?" Luvia asked, glaring at Archer who was leaning on her couch.

He eyed her and sighed. "Out scouting. I was bored. Besides, your defenses are quite impressive, and would buy you time for me to reach your side even if you were attacked."

She sat down opposite him and began sipping a cup of tea before breaking the silence. "And? Did you find anything?"

Archer sat up straight and nodded. "I ran into an engagement between Berserker and Lancer. Plus, I managed to learn their identities without them knowing it."

Luvia immediately put down her tea cup, suddenly full of attention. "And?" She asked impatiently.

Archer smirked inwardly at the sight and arranged his thoughts before putting them into words. " Well, you'd be surprised by both of their identities. Lancer is Ireland's Son of Light, therefore his lance would be a great threat to us. However, I will think of a solution to that, so don't worry. As for Berserker, he's the greatest hero in Greek mythology, known as the famous Hercules."

She leaned back in her chair and mused over the information for a while. "Waste of such a great hero, don't you think?" He raised an eyebrow at her comment but didn't say anything. The blonde frowned and continued in an annoyed tone. "What I meant to say was that, if Hercules was really as strong as the legends proclaim, wouldn't he be able to put those skills to better use if he is in another class?"

"I concede the point, Luvia, but from what I gathered from the battle, the Einzberns prefer to use brute strength to win this war." _'Let_ _'s not let her know I was a Master in the War...yet,'_ Archer thought warily.

"Oh? I'm surprised to hear that. I thought the Einzbern would want to utilize the full strength of his Servant and accidentally summoned him into that class because all the other classes were filled up. And now, the truth is that they deliberately summon a hero as strong and famous as he is in the Berserker class."

Archer nodded. "Indeed. In fact, it would not come as a surprise if they had summoned their Servant much earlier to avoid the slot from being taken away." He paused. "Actually, Luvia, I do have a hypothesis of my own, and it may sound absurd. Do you still want to hear it?"

"Any guesses would be welcomed." The blonde replied, putting down the teacup.

"Actually, the Berserker class was to enhance the power of weaker Heroic Spirits, correct? The Servant's stat would be boosted one rank higher. And if such a setting is applied on a hero as famous as Hercules is..."

"Then he would be much stronger than he would be, even the Saber class would be no match for him." Luvia interrupted in realization. ' _So that's why. But I wonder, how does Archer know all this? How is he able to link all this?'_

She continued to study Archer, who was a complete mystery to her while sipping a cup of tea.

 _'Archer, just who were you?'_

* * *

"Quite an interesting outcome," Caster whispered to herself as the image from her orb disappeared. She directed her gaze to her Master, who was slouching in his seat, playing video games while munching on some junk food she asked the monks to buy earlier that day, and erasing their memories after they had run the errand.

Shinichi took an eye off his game and glared at his Servant with a sour gaze. "What now?"

Apparently, the boy was still upset that he was unable to leave the temple grounds unless she was with him to protect him. She did, however, managed to get him an Internet connection, video games, and junk food to at least calm him down. But still, the boy's attitude had not changed much. He still very much dislikes her, and she could not blame him for that. After all, he didn't want to be in this in the first place. He was chosen because the Holy Grail has no other candidates to choose from.

 _'Though it does greatly affect my chances of winning this war. But looking on the bright side, I can plan everything to suit to my own ways, and not bounded to a kid_ _'s commands.'_

"Master. I will be in my workshop if you need anything. I must warn you again. Your safety is of utmost importance to me, please do not leave the temple grounds unless I'm with you, alright?" She tried to converse with the boy politely, but all she had in return was rudeness.

Shinichi waved her off and returned to his game. "Whatever, as I said before, I don't give a shit about what you want to do as long as my needs are satisfied."

With a polite bow, Caster took her leave and headed towards her workshop, using mental interference to wipe out the memories of the monks who saw her. It would suffice for them to know that Shinichi was the only boarder there. Her workshop was a little way mid hill, and she could easily reach there with spatial teleportation, but at the moment, she felt the need for a little walk and peace.

She made her way down the stairs, musing about things over while enjoying the scenery.

 _'This war, it requires some sort of strategy if I wish to win. As a Caster, I am formidable in my own way, however, due to my hasty and last minute summoning, I don_ _'t even have ample time to set up a prim and proper workshop. If I'm attacked now, even at my stronghold here, I may be defeated easily if all the other Servants are as strong as the three I saw just now.'_

 _'Berserker, though influenced by mad enhancement, his way with his weapon was still astounding. Even with brute strength alone, the monster could possibly tear the entire city apart. And not to mention if he is summoned as a Saber or Archer. His strength should be something well known in history. He should be quite a famous hero if my assumptions are true.'_

 _'Lancer, a Heroic Spirit known for his use in lance. A swift one too, considering the speed he could demonstrate, he would stand head and shoulders above any other spearmen. Add in a demonic red spear, and an armor covered in Runes, I don_ _'t think his identity will be hard to guess. In fact, I might already know who he truly is.'_

 _'Archer... This man is an enigma. The arrow he had fired at Berserker was not truly an arrow. I had seen a sword morphed into the shape of an arrow, and fired by the man in red. The arrow then exploded upon contact. The remaining shards of his weapon dissipated into mana, which was unusual, even if it was a Broken Phantasm. Even Broken Phantasm don_ _'t work like that. That man, just who he is?'_

* * *

Emiya Shirou sat down his in Japanese home living room, savoring the moment to be home again after so long of being away from home. His summoned Servant, Saber, sat opposite him, a smile playing on her lips. She too preferred the environment at his huge samurai compound rather than some high-class hotel suite.

"Love the feeling of being back here?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

The blonde nodded and directed her gaze around the spacious living room. It was still just like how she had remembered. Though in every war, she was here for only a short duration of time, the homely feeling she had felt always soothed her.

"Indeed I do. It feels much like home."

Shirou was busy making tea in the kitchen. "Camelot?"

However, Saber shook her head and smiled sadly. "No, Camelot had never felt like home. Even though I wedded Guinevere, and was supposed to have a happy royal marriage, as most of my subjects had thought, there are many things to worry about in court. Growing up there, it wasn't a pleasant childhood to remember. The politics, the backstabbing, it was just how royal families are like, all around the world, all over the era."

He put down a cup of tea in front of himself and Saber and sat down again. "Actually, all that continues, even in this country we are in now. Only that now we don't call the ruling party a court, but the government."

She nodded in agreement. "Now, Shirou, what do you think we should do in this Grail war? Will you once again seek a truce with Rin? I will agree with your decision if you wish to do so. Rin is a powerful Magus, and she has more experience when compared to you."

Upon hearing her name, Shirou hung his head low, not willing to meet her gaze. "Saber, there is something that I should have told you about, right after the summoning, but I never had the time to do so. And I couldn't bring myself to voice it out. ... Tohsaka, she did not survive the war ten years ago."

"What do you mean... Rin did not survive?" Saber asked, shocked.

He took a deep breath. "After she brought Shinji to safety, she was taken by the Holy Grail again. You didn't see it because you vanished after you thought you had destroyed the Grail. But when I defeated Gilgamesh, a black hole appeared and took both of them away. There... There was nothing I could do for her."

Saber was silent after she heard it. But before long, she reached out for his hand, much to Shirou's surprise. "Do you think that she's dead?"

"I... I refuse to believe all that. She's Tohsaka. She's no ordinary Magus. She can't be dead that easily. But her sister, Sakura, was sure that Tohsaka was dead, with reasons she refused to share with any of us."

"Shirou, Rin is her sister. No matter what she says to you, I'm sure she wish that Rin survives. No... She will believe that she survived, waiting for the day for a reunion. But it had been hard for her as well. She thought it would be better to think of her sister that way, not to have her hopes crushed. But to you, I say this, have faith. Someone like her is sure to have the blessing of the Gods."

He buried his head in his hands. "I hope you are right, Saber. I hope you are..." With that, he broke into a sob, his whole frame shaking.

Saber silently took her leave.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura, with a dematerialized Rider at her side, she headed to the Fuyuki foreign cemetery, stopping to buy a bouquet of white jasmines along the way.

 _'Why white jasmines?'_ Rider asked telepathically.

Sakura smiled sadly and answered her telepathically. She wouldn't want the bypassers to think of her as a lunatic, talking to thin air. _'Nee-san_ _'s favorite flowers. I don't want to disappoint her now, do I?'_

Rider chuckled softly at the comment. _'What would she say if you bring other kinds of flowers for her?'_

 _'Don_ _'t know. Maybe she would scold me for that, something along the line like, hey, what do you think you're doing, bringing anything_ _ **but**_ _white jasmines for me?'_ Sakura replied, smiling to herself. Rider too chuckled at the comment.

They stopped in front of a grave, and Sakura crouched down, placing the flowers down as well. Silently, she reached out to touch the tombstone, running her fingers over the etched characters.

"Nee-san..." She whispered softly. "I know you can't hear this , but... I wish I could talk to you again, just like how we used to do before we were separated by fate. But fate is truly cruel to us. At the exact same moment you chose to reach out, you were forever taken away from me."

The leaves rustled, and the dried ones drifted off from the tree and landed on the ground. The wind carried cherry blossoms from the trees outside the cemetery and landed them all over the place, like confetti. Rider watched on neutrally as her Master pulled an envelope out from her coat and tucked it neatly into the bouquet of flowers.

"Nee-san... I know that you will not be able to read this, but... since you were able to reach me from death, then maybe, maybe I could do the same thing too." She stood up and wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes. She tenderly touched the grave next to it, the one which belonged to her mother. Their mother. She then stood up and began to leave. But she turned back to eye their graves once more before leaving the place.

"Come on, Rider. We have a war to win." Sakura said resolutely. _'For your sake, nee-san, I will end all this once and for all.'_

 _'As you command, my Master...,'_ came Rider's reply through their telepathic link.

* * *

Two pairs of crimson eyes watched silently at the image projected on the orb. The field of vision was through one of the familiars they had placed in the city for the war. Now, the familiar was close in pursue on a woman with long dark hair and aquamarine eyes. The familiar possessed a high level of presence concealment, and thus was able to stay undetected until now.

The younger woman broke the silence with a sigh and leaned back in her chair, frowning. Her long luxuriant hair swept over her crimson eyes, making her expression unreadable. "It is an absurdity."

"What is the absurdity?" The older man asked with a soft smile.

She sat up straight,almost shouting. "All this, what else? What the hell is wrong with these people? Aren't they realizing the mistaken path they're taking?! For goodness sake, if this their way to reach Akasha, they will never make it. Besides, nobody had ever reached the Akasha without being wiped out by the Counter Force, and they know it. Yet, they are still willing to do such a thing. If this is not absurdity, then what is this?"

Zelretch laughed, much to the White Princess' annoyance. "Do not be so hot tempered, my little Arcueid. After all, we are in no place to judge them. If this is the way they want to reach their goal, then let them reach the end of this road themselves. Besides, have you forgotten that I was the one who gave them advice on how to construct the Holy Grail?"

Arcueid rolled her eyes at him. "And to think that my sister was caught up with all this, this is just unforgivable."

"Now, now, be a good girl,and don't show such tempers in front of her, it's really a bad influence, and you know it too."

"Are you saying that I'm a bad influence?!" She exclaimed, pouting in defiance.

He laughed again, and patted his grand daughter on the head. "Of course not, my little princess. Now, where's that sister of yours?"

* * *

Caren Hortensia, daughter of the Supervisor of the fifth Grail War, and granddaughter to the Supervisor of the fourth Grail War sat in the office which once belonged to her father. Apparently, her old man was fond of the golden chess set the King of Heroes had owned, and went to replicate one set of his own.

 _'Without the consent of the king, apparently, since he hid it in the deepest corner of his closet. And if Gilgamesh finds out his chess set was replicated, no doubt of him killing father on the spot.'_

She picked up the Lancer, Berserker, and Archer, and placed them in front of their Masters. These three Servants were the ones who had already made their move in this war. As for the Masters , only of Lancer and Berserker's had shown themselves, while Archer's Master still remained in the shadows. Not that she minded of course. She knew all the identities of the seven Masters in this war.

 _'Hmm, I wonder, who will be the next to make their move?'_ She picked up Rider and smiled to herself. ' _Perhaps it might be you. Be sure to put up a good show, Tohsaka...'_

She put the chess piece down and went through the notes her father had during the previous two wars. She had read them many times, but ti would never hurt for her to read it once more, would it? She found that Servants in the fourth war all reveal themselves in the early stages of the war, while in the fifth war, they showed up slowly like some sort of drama.

 _'Difference in the age and experience of the Master perhaps...'_

The Masters from the fourth war was mostly well known in the Mages Association and held true powers in their hands. In the fifth war, most of the Masters were kids or people who weren't even a Magus, to begin with. The vast difference in the two wars made the woman hard to predict the outcome of this war.

Some of the participating Magus were those from the previous war. But the once naive children had grown up over the years and had become powerful Magus in their own fields of research.

Emiya Shirou, Master of Saber, the once naive boy who strive to become a Hero of Justice. He still sought the goal, but with different ways.

Tohsaka Sakura, biological sister of the deceased fifth heiress, the true Master of Rider in the fifth Grail War. Objective unknown.

Bazett Fraga McRemitz, Enforcer from the Magus Association, true Master of Lancer in the fifth war. She was forced to leave the war after her father took away her Command Seals.

With the other four participants from House Edelfelt, Einzbern, Akabane and Nobunaga, these seven filled up all the slots of this Grail War. She took a sip of the Mexican coffee and smiled to herself.

Then it happened.

She felt her link with the Holy Grail being opened and felt the presence of a powerful being, being called forth.

"What is happening? All the seven slots have been filled, why is there another Servant being summoned? And neither does grandfather nor father's notes has anything about this. Well, I suppose whoever had caused the change, he or she is bound to come to me...in time."

She raised her cup in toast to the air.

* * *

 **Behind the sceneS...**

Caster : Welcome, dear couples, to our Holy Grail Anniversary Dinner!

Rider : Indeed. Looks like Illya and Berserker are the cutest couple of all! Rin and Archer

the most romantic couple of all and also Shirou and Saber, the daring couple of

the night.

Caster : That's right again, Rider. I think Saber has the perfect gown for such occasions.

Rider : Too bad for us, though, as we have no partner for this event.

Caster : Watch out for that, Rider! Look in front of you! It's your dear Shinji!

Rider : I'm blushing already. Look who's following close behind. Knights of the Round!

Caster : Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere...

Rider : And look at that handsome guy. Eh? Isn't he your Lancer?

Caster : _*screams loudly*_ AHHH, LANCER, MY LOVE!

Rider : Woah, calm down, woman.

By : **Caster Medea Nightraven**

* * *

 **A/N:**

Ah, yes, here I am again, after another chapter of Fate. Sorry, this came in late compared to my last update, but life's calling, and it's smashing its way through my reality. So, after this update, it might take some time for me to do the next update, maybe you guys will need to wait for a week or two or even longer, and I have to seriously start studying for my exams. But I promise you all, this fic will not be discontinued no matter what.

Again, first off, another thousand thanks to **SPR** and **CASTER.** The both of them never fail to support me, and help me along the way. And just as a note, **SPR** is my official publisher here. Then of course, to all of you who left me reviews, favorited and followed my story. I thank you all for your support. It really does mean a lot to me, and I will try to live up to your expectations. Hope you all will continue to support me. Thank you! =)

Sorry, the fighting part wasn't like what you all had expected, as Lancer did not fight as much as he wanted to. Poor guy, but Hercules is a tough one, so things won't be fun if they unleash their Noble Phantasm, would it? And, well, Archer is a rebel at heart, and he acts independently all the time, so I decided to put him in the spotlight. Plus, he will never acknowledge anyone except Rin as his Master. Can't blame him. They have a special bond between them. Fighting scenes have always been a great challenge to me, but I will try to make things better in the next chapter.

And as for the next chapter, the war continues, and the mysterious woman makes her move. Some of your replies said she's Aoko, let's see about that, shall we?

Till next time then. Bye, and have a nice day.

\- **Rin Tohsaka**


	4. Chapter 4

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

 **A/N**

So, a little something from me before we head into the chapter. This is my second update for the week, and will be the final chapter I will be posting for now. Exams are coming right after the holidays, and you all know school is important. But worry not, my dear readers, I promise to get back to your reviews and PM as fast as I can via my publisher. As for when my next chapter will be up, I can't say. Maybe another fortnight, sometime like that. So, please sit back and enjoy~ ;)

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

The sound of metal clashing rang through the night, and Sakura briefly looked up from the fight of Rider against the Japanese swordsman when she felt several bounded fields falling into place around them. It was typical in Magus practice, masking your presence when you're in public. The bounded fields in place had several functions. Besides preventing any leakage of sound from the fight, the fields also

produce illusions to outsiders, such that when they look at the area, it was just a normal Mion Harbour at night. The field also has additional protection to prevent any mundane Humans from accidentally going into the battleground.

 _Good construction of bounded field, but the Master refused to show himself or herself. Well, then, I suppose it can't be helped. Secrecy is paramount in magic after all._ Sakura shrugged at her own thoughts, withdrawing a few gems from her pocket, just in case things went south. Correction, when things went south. In a war, everything might turn against you anytime. And she learned that the hard way.

Rider had an advantage in the fight, with her weapon being more suitable in mid range combat. And hence, even with a sword as long as that, the Japanese samurai was just another swordsman who excelled in close combat when he was alive. However, none of her attacks had managed to hit him, though she had the advantage of distance. His five feet long sword was his best attack and defense. She pulled more distance between them, standing in front of Sakura protectively. The samurai merely let a soft smile play on his lips, and held his sword low, making no intention of any surprise attacks.

"Chivalrous?" Rider asked, her chains turning invisible, and she threw them around the samurai, who again made no move. "You do not fight like a Saber, and you don't fight like a single combatant either. Who are you?"

"I am Sasaki Kojirou, summoned by my Master into the Assassin class. I will fight alongside my Master to fulfill his goal. However, I have no chivalry of any sort. It is merely because I feel disgusted at the rules bestowed upon us in this war." He replied, carrying the sword across his shoulders.

 _I definitely didn't expect him to tell me outright his real name..._ She nodded. "I understand your discomfort, samurai. Here we are; heroes from all over the era and world, summoned into this world to do our Master's bidding. Yet, we are bounded by a rule of this modern era where we can't reveal who we are, and neither do we have the honor of knowing the identity of the hero we are fighting. But since you have made it clear on who you are, it will be rude of me if I don't return the courtesy. My name is..."

However, Assassin raised his hand before she could say her true name. "Lass, do not tell me your true name. I did it because telling you my name will not place me in a disadvantageous position. However, to you, the situation differs. I wish for the two of us to fight equally."

Rider frowned at the remark, not that anyone could see that of course. _Wanting an equal fight? He just told me his name! What the hell is this samurai trying to do?_

Meanwhile, Sakura was equally pissed as well. Her enemy had revealed his name, yet she was unable to acquire any knowledge about him. It was as if the man had never existed. Yet, she was fairly confident that she knew about all the samurais in Japanese history. O _kay, maybe not all, but I'm pretty sure he must have been a famous one, I couldn't have missed him..._ Sakura thought to herself. Uncle Kariya had made it a habit of telling her and her sister such stories since young, and she was quite sure she had never heard of such a name before.

 _Perhaps he had lived under another name? If only I can force that out of him. But he's already kind enough to let us know his name. Well then, I suppose we just need to rely on ourselves then._

She focused her gaze on Assassin's attire and his sword. However, they were nothing out of the ordinary. It was very much the same like any other samurai would have worn. Even his sword was just a simple katana. There was no tremendous amount of mana from it, and it definitely did not feel like a Noble Phantasm. But there was nothing else on the man which would look like one.

 _Besides, what kind of Assassin fights like a Saber? ... ...Then again, nee-san's Archer was a swordsman too..._

The sound of clashing metal brought her back to reality, and she saw Rider's chains entwined with the enemy's sword. Assassin seemed to have a hard time trying to untangle things, and Rider took the chance to close the distance, her dagger raised to his face. He caught her hand and twisted the dagger out of her hand. Rider grunted, and narrowly avoided the kick to her shin.

Using the brief moment, Assassin immediately pulled his sword out from the deadlock, like pulling a sword from its scabbard. He flipped through the air, and landed on one knee, carrying the sword across his shoulder. Rider somersaulted and landed a good distance away from him, her chains remained invisible and her face as cold as ever.

"A Rider who doesn't have a chariot, faces her enemy in a single hand to hand combat? I suppose I can't really say anything, as an Assassin, I too do not strike like one."

Rider smiled. "Indeed, samurai. If you had not told me your class, I would presume you to be a Saber."

Karma's voice rang through the battlefield, sounding urgent. "Be on guard, Assassin, I sense incoming Servants who had breached my bounded field. There is more than one heading our way."

Sakura swore under her breath at those words. _More? Why are they showing up now? It is still too early for them to show themselves. To hell with all this. What is going on here?_

Rider leaped back to where her Master was standing, and took a protective stance. "Do not leave my side, Sakura. Things will be a little messy, but I will protect you no matter what."

"Don't underestimate me, Rider." Sakura said with a smile, pulling out several gemstones, and began to chant a spell.

* * *

"Hey, Lancer, Archer, look at what I've stumbled upon." A muffled voice sounded. Two pairs of Masters and Servants look up to see three figure standing on top of the crane which overlooked the entire harbor.

The first was a Servant of small stature, covered completely in thick body armor that entirely wrapped her small frame. The single mass of steel and her face covering-helm conceal her face. A sword was held in her hand, proving her to be of the Saber class if the rules of the war were still relevant.

The second was a girl clad in verdant green with cold sharp eyes containing a beastly glint. Her hair was stretched out long and unkempt, completely lacking the silkiness that would be found among those of noble birth. A simple bow was held in one hand as she looked upon them neutrally.

The last was dressed in a royal fashion, appearing as black as the shadow, which was a contrast with his pale face and long, silky snow like hair. He gave off an overwhelming presence, causing ceaseless trembling whenever one gazed upon him. This did not stem from fear due to violent nature, but rather to his icy gaze and the enemies recognizing themselves as hopelessly weak and powerless before him.

"Ready to be defeated, Red?" The knight in armor asked as she held her sword in a stance. Her fellow allies held up held up her bow while the man merely looked on neutrally. The knight grunted, but said nothing more to Lancer.

 _Damn, this is no good. Going against all the three knight classes at once._ The four of them thought.

With a battle cry, Saber jumped off the crane, holding her sword in two hands, and brought it down hard. Assassin took the blow with his sword, but the brute force demonstrated by Saber was enough to send him crumbling to his knees. Grunting, he tried to get away from Saber, but the latter landed a good solid kick to his torso, sending him tumbling to the other side of the space.

Archer, on the other hand, began firing arrows at her leisure at all of them. Rider deflected most of them, while Assassin was able to avoid them. His Master, Karma, on the other hand, was having a hard time trying to stay alive with another barrier he had set up. Thankfully, Lancer made no move, merely crossing his arms as he watched on with his icy gaze.

"Sakura, we must leave, it's too dangerous," Rider whispered as she deflected yet another arrow from Archer.

"I know, but we are surrounded." She hissed and threw a gem at Archer, who easily shattered it with an arrow, the gemstone's mana being siphoned back by her. "And Archer will be sure to nock more arrows if we try anything."

With another furious battle cry, Saber raised her sword to counter Assassin's riposte. The knight in silver and red pushed the samurai back with brute force and pummelled him in the face. He staggered backward, wiping away the blood seeping from the corner of his lips and took his stance. Saber smiled smugly and charged forward with mana burst, quickly closing the distance and brought the sword in a horizontal arc, with Assassin narrowly avoiding it. He brought up his katana, but Saber deflected it without fail and pushed both swords onto the ground. Grinding force into her feet, her legs kicked upwards, and solidly connected with his chest, and somersaulted before landing in a crouch. Assassin backpedaled, coughing up blood before standing up again.

"Not bad," Saber remarked. "Even though you're just an Assassin."

"Likewise, young knight." He replied. "Your impressive swordsmanship makes you an ideal Heroic Spirit for your class, Saber."

She spat, and raised her sword. "There's always someone who can't see things." Using mana burst, she closed the distance quickly and swept her sword low, aiming for his legs. The samurai, however, jumped and nimbly landed on her sword. Saber spat, trying to pull the sword away, but failed. He brought his sword down, but Saber brought her gauntleted fist to deflect it. Sparks flew, as the katana slid down her arm to her face. She avoided the sword, but the sword still managed to graze her chin.

Assassin jumped off and smiled at the thin trail of blood trickling down his opponent's chin. Saber, on the other hand, smiled behind her helm. This fight was truly exceptional, and it was bringing her fighting spirit out fully. It had been a long time since she made a good fight, and she was longing for it. The sword in her hands began to glow red, as it felt its owner's blood lust growing.

 _It will be your time soon, Clarent, be patient... Your power can only be used on one person, and my dear father had yet to show herself if she is here._

Assassin's Master had long jumped off the container and was now standing alongside Sakura as he placed another barrier around them. Sakura threw several more gems at the incoming barrage of arrows. The barrier began to crack under the force, and even with Rider's help, not all the arrows were deflected. The worst of the worst was that the enemy was still holding back, toying with them, as it would be clearly seen from the Lancer still standing there with arms crossed, doing nothing.

"How about a temporary truce until this is over?" Karma shouted over the sound of weapons clashing.

Sakura nodded. "Fine by me. We can kill each other later."

* * *

Emiya Shirou and Saber were walking near the Mion Harbour when they felt several bounded fields falling into place. They had ignored it, not yet wanting to get caught up in any battle. The purpose of the night walk was to get a full view of the city, as Fuyuki had changed over the years.

The walk had continued on peaceful enough until they sensed the presence of a Servant coming their way. Saber immediately donned on her battledress; blue, and silver under the rays of the soft moonlight while waiting for their enemy to reveal themselves. Before the enemy Servant could make a move, Shirou had traced his two favorite swords, Kansho and Bakuya, and deflected a barrage of Gandr aimed at them.

 _Gandr?_ He thought silently, as he and Saber deflected yet another barrage of them. _Is it Tohsaka? No, the structure is different from hers. Then, who is it?_

"Shirou!" Saber's shout brought him back to reality, and he watched in awe as she deflected some arrows. She looked up to a building and sure enough, a certain man in red and black was standing there. He lowered his disappearing bow as his swords appeared in his hands. He jumped off the building and aimed for Saber's head, and the blonde rushed forward to meet his challenge.

 _It really is Archer. Then, where's his Master? Where's Tohsaka?_

"Sherou, what a pleasant surprise, to run into you on this pleasant night." A familiar voice called out to him. He turned his sherry brown eyes, and stared right into a pair of crimson, blond hair, dressed in a blue and white sleeveless dress.

"Edelfelt-san? But how? That guy was supposed..." He gasped in surprise.

But Luvia was already on the attack, with reinforced legs, she bounded forward and aimed a punch at his face, but he crossed his sword to deflect the hit. The force was still enough to send his staggering to the back. With the experience he had gained over the years, he let his back hit the ground, Luvia close in pursuit before he kicked upwards, connecting with her torso. The blonde, however, smiled and a gem shattered in his face, exploding with raw mana. If not for the simple barrier he had set up with a one count aria, he would have been blown to pieces.

 _She reinforced herself, should've thought about that. She's a Magus, I'm just a Spell Caster. Get a grip, Emiya Shirou. You're no longer the novice you were ten years ago. Come on, think._

"Impressive spell, Sherou, but it's not enough to take me down. Your Projection magic had grown over the years as well as some other form of mage-craft, but other than that, you're pretty much the same boy I encountered nine years ago." Luvia remarked.

"Don't underestimate me, Edelfelt-san. Even with only projection, I can still defeat you if I want to." As if trying to prove his point, several swords were projected and pointed at the blonde. "Continuos fire!"

The blades flew towards the blonde, and she gasped in surprise before ducking to aside in time to avoid being skewered. But Shirou smiled and redirected the blades at her. Luvia yelped, throwing several gems at the projections, but they emerged unharmed, straight for her. Arrows split the night, and both projections exploded, releasing raw mana into the air. She turned to see Archer stashing away his bow, calling forth his twin swords and defended himself against Saber's onslaught.

 _Wait, those swords..._ She eyed them and turned back in surprise at the swords held in the redhead's hands.

Shirou took the moment to charge forward, his twin swords raised high for an overhead strike. Luvia backed away, and Kansho missed her neck, Bakuya came slashing from the left, again missing her torso. He smirked, and the projected swords surged forward, lacerating one arm, sending the blonde retreating in pain.

"Sherou, those swords..." She asked in surprise.

He merely shrugged. "You can say I copied them. After all, I have nothing which is my own."

A distance away, an invisible sword clashed with the dual swords, sending sparks off the two swords. Archer smirked as he twisted Bakuya, and brought Kansho up in an upward slash. The blonde moved back in time, and the sword managed to cut off thin strands of golden hair. He then twisted his swords again, and they grew even longer, slashing at Saber. She hissed, and quickly pulled the distance by unleashing the wind barrier, pushing him backward. Archer planted his feet firm and plunged a sword into the ground. Using the sword as a stepping stone, he bounded forward, already tracing another sword.

Caliburn met Excalibur, and Saber's expression was that of anger. The two swords pushed against each other, with none of them willing to pull back. The wind around the invisible sword intensify, and he grunted before kicking her in the abdomen, staggering the blonde. Throwing the sword aside, he traced Gae Bolg, and jabbed the sword at her face. Saber parried them, sweeping them aside before closing the distance, colliding into Archer with her shoulder. Another short yellow spear appeared in his left hand, and her eyes widened in surprise before backing away in time. But the spear managed to graze her arm but thank goodness the wound was superficial. None of her muscles or tendons were injured.

"Archer, you..."

The knight in red smirked as a response. _Sorry, Saber, but I no longer just rely on those two_ _swords; otherwise, I'll never be able to reach my goal._

Another sword appeared in his hand, or rather a stone slab, which the blonde recognized belonging to Berserker. He brought the sword down full force, and Saber grunted as she took the attack head on, Excalibur creaking under its weight. He smirked at the sight, and traced some dirks, throwing them at Saber, hitting her arm and shoulder. She hissed in pain and pulled away. The stone slab smashed into the ground, cratered, and disappeared into flecks of mana.

"Why are you summoned by her?" Saber asked. "I thought that Rin was the only one who could summon you since you hold the pendant."

"Been trying to figure out myself. Where's Rin? She wouldn't be happy about me being summoned by her cousin." He asked in return, Kansho and Bakuya appearing in his hand once more.

Saber's expression was of pure shock. "Wait, you mean...you don't know what happened ten years ago?"

He smirked. "Have you forgotten that the brat killed me? Not to mention the fact that I had been Alaya's pet dog after all the drama here. Never had the chance to know how things ended, though I do have my own guesses." He finished with a shrug.

"Rin... She passed away in the fifth war."

His swords dropped to the ground with a metallic clang and disappeared. But she didn't attack. Not just because the oath of a knight, but she felt sorry for the man too. No matter what, Rin saved his life, and loved him, and he had loved her. The Servant of the Bow sank to his knees in disbelief and sobbed.

* * *

"Why are you fighting?" Luvia asked, as the onslaught of the blades stopped, and Emiya Shirou put down his swords for the blonde to catch a breath. "Are you still seeking out the shores of becoming a Hero of Justice?"

He shook his head. "The wish of wanting to become a hero, I will do it without help from the Grail. You do not know the true nature of the Grail, it is foul and contaminated. It is not a wish granting tool, it is not as omnipotent as they had said. The supposed Holy Grail is just a mean for the Angra Mainyu to manifest in our world and create havoc."

She narrowed her eyes in question. "Then, are you fighting for revenge?"

"Perhaps I am. Illya died, Tohsaka died, and Shinji fell victim to its curse and died two years after. Though revenge is not my ultimate goal as well." He paused. "I want to end all this. No more sacrifices because of some foolish tool that isn't even real. I know, that Sakura is fighting for the same thing too."

"Is she? I have no doubt that young Tohsaka is fighting for revenge of her deceased sister. But you? I don't understand why are you still involved. The war ten years ago, you joined unwillingly, but now, you have changed. You are no longer the Sherou I knew nine years ago."

He smiled sadly. "Edelfelt-san, time changes people. I am no longer the novice Magus I was ten years ago. But my goals have never changed in the war. Ten years ago, I fight for the sake of avoiding what happened twenty years ago, the Fuyuki big fire which took away so many innocent lives. Now, I'm still fighting for it. I don't want to see anyone else die because of this."

"A gentleman, aren't you?" She smiled. "You are truly a Hero of Justice." And he smiled sheepishly.

"Done chit-chatting?" A voice resounded through the battlefield. "The two goof heads over yonder is chatting too, and the red guy seems to be a crybaby. Geez, doesn't anyone teach you people to cut down you words when you're facing a life or death fight?"

The two Masters raised their heads in surprise to see a cloaked woman staring down at the two of them. Seven gemstones floated around her in a circle, glimmering in radiant beauty, creating an aurora around the woman. The red cloak covered her upper face, but the smile she had on her lips was familiar to Shirou.

"Are you a fellow Master in the quest for the Holy Grail?" Luvia shouted her question.

The woman chuckled, and held up both her hands. None of them were emblazoned with Command Seals. "No, I'm not a participant in your little game. Who the hell wants that malevolent tool? I'm just here to watch, but I got bored once you people started to talk, so I decided to teach you on proper techniques when you are fighting."

Her gems shone brightly and angled themselves in a way such that all four of them would get a blast each, while the remaining three stayed in standby mood. The Masters yelped in surprise and dodged them, but was still singed. Saber hit the beam with her sword, directly the beam to the sea. Archer looked up when he sensed the mana signature and immediately threw a sword at the beam, jumping away in frustration at the unwanted intrusion.

"Lesson number one. Always pay heed to your surroundings as your enemy might ambush you with unknown tactics." She began with an impish smile, raising a hand. Six gems moved to form two triangles, each glimmering with three colors. With a muttered aria, the construct fired at them in a blazing heat, and all of them took off for their lives. Saber tried deflecting it, but the beam merely twisted and hit her hard, sending the Servant of the Sword crashing into the container, and coughing up blood.

"Saber!" Archer shouted, but he got a full hit too, and was sent tumbling down the road, singed and dizzy. He tried to prop himself up, and another beam hit him, sending the Archer with low magic resistance into a dark abyss.

On the other hand, the Masters were doing a better job of dodging them as the constructs can only fire in one direction at a time. But their luck ran out fast, as the construct which was targeting the Servants moved to target them instead. Luvia cursed in German and threw another gem at the beam. But other than giving the beam more power, it did nothing to help the two of them.

"Damn, what's with this woman and firepower?!" Luvia yelled angrily as she dodged another beam, only for another one to tear right through her left knee, leaving her crippled, and a hell of a bloody mess. She clutched her ruined knee in pain and turned worriedly to Shirou.

 _And thank the Roots that she lost interests in whoever she had defeated. At least she would leave me alone for now._

"Edelfelt-san!" He turned to shout when he heard her scream, and the beam tore a hole through his body. Although Saber was close, she was not close enough for his wounds to close immediately. He sank down to one knee, blood gurgling out from his side and mouth, but the wound was starting to close, albeit slowly.

The woman jumped down and landed gracefully in front of them. "Hmm, seems to me the firepower was not enough. I will need to adjust the Fire and Earth." She said in a tone of a scientist examining her lab rats.

"Earth and Fire? Dual elemental affinity?" Luvia asked in shock.

She cocked her head to a side, and her gems hovered around her. "Dual Affinity? What are you talking about? I'm an Average One, in case you're wondering."

That got an even bigger reaction from Luvia, who gasped in in both pain and surprise. "You're what?!" She managed to say, but another beam tore through her arm, and she nearly fainted from the burning pain. _And I thought Average Ones were supposed to be rare. Where the hell she popped up from?_

"Lesson number two. Never leave your enemies alive, as they will return to be bigger problems." She said, raising a finger, directing the constructs at them. The two constructs began to focus energy in a larger magnitude than the last round.

 _Hell, I'm here to fight a Grail War. And now I'm going to die under the hands of a Magus who isn't even a Master?! Curse your own luck, Luvia._

However, the constructs never got a chance to fire. Two arrows knocked the gems out of place, and the light immediately dimmed. The unknown Magus turned distastefully to the man with white hair who interrupted her and frowned as she noticed the bow in his hand. Archer seemed to ba able to stand and fight, as long as it does not take up too much energy, and the mana supplied by Luvia was quickly used to heal himself. The gems rearranged themselves and aimed for Archer. He smirked, and several projected swords fired towards her in tremendous speed. With a one count aria, the gems arranged themselves to form a protective barrier, and the swords shattered upon impact, the mana being siphoned off by the gems

"Water also need to be adjusted. This would be a waste if I can't accomplish it." She turned her head to the direction of Mion Harbour and mused. "Your friends need help. You should go."

With that, mana was released from the gems and directed to the four of them, regenerating damaged muscles, tendons, and organs.

"Wait..." Shirou called, as the woman turned to leave. "Just...who are you?"

She turned, and they could all see the smile playing on her lips. Then she vanished.

Before any of them could say anything, a loud explosion from the Mion Harbour brought the two Servants in the direction, with the two Masters following close behind.

* * *

Karma grunted in frustration as another of his bounded field fell prey to Archer's barrage of arrows. Beside him, Sakura was equally frustrated, as she counted the number of gems she had left. He saw her frowning, which meant it couldn't be a good sign. He turned to his other side, where the Servant of the Chariot was keeping up the defensive sphere with her chains tirelessly. While he watched, an arrow flew through the barrier, but the Oriental Magus merely directed a Gandr at the arrow. Although it was ineffective in destroying the arrow, it was at least able to deflect its path. He continued to watch in awe at the perfect Master-Servant combination in front of him, wishing that he and Assassin would be able to do so as well in this ongoing Holy Grail War.

"If you have time to stand around daydreaming, you might as well lend us a hand here. The Archer on their side is annoying." Sakura said, throwing a glance at him before turning her attention back to the defensive sphere.

Karma nodded and slipped on a pair of gloves which was emblazoned with sigils. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the sight. But when his lips moved, ten wraiths appeared behind him, each with their unique appearance. He moved his fingers, and the wraiths moved forward, engulfing the arrows, and the arrows dissipated into mana and used up by the wraiths.

"Impressive," Sakura remarked, smiling.

"Actually, I was saving this for uses in the future. But if I don't use it now, we might not even have a future."He shrugged, and directed them at another barrage of arrows, again engulfing them and siphoned off the mana. Archer hissed in anger at the sight and stomped her feet in rage.

"How dare thou assault my arrows? I shall deliver death to thou swiftly." She roared, and more arrows appeared on her bow. She nocked it and fired it at them.

Once again the wraiths moved to intercept the arrows, and Rider and Sakura took up the rear to deflect the stray arrows. Archer howled in rage at the sight, stomping her feet. She turned to say something to Lancer, but he merely shrugged off whatever she had said. She turned back to them and grinned. Rider moved backward to stand beside the two Masters.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Please be careful, Sakura."

Her Master nodded and swallowed a gem to replenish her mana reserves. "Do you think she will invoke her Noble Phantasm now?"

"I'm not sure." Karma was the one who replied, as he directed five of his wraiths to help his Servant. Archer had reduced the number of arrows fired at them, and some of them was directed to help her ally as well. "If you want to think of another plan, now would be the best time to do so.

* * *

Meanwhile, a little distance away, the two legendary heroes continued to clash against each other. The two swordsman refused to give up, even though they were both a little exhausted. Saber, with her Battle Continuation skill, was much spirited than Assassin, who began to show openings in his defense. His clothes were torn and stained with blood, and Saber's armor had lost its shine. She grunted at the sight of the arrows flying for Assassin's head and frowned even more at the sight of the incoming wraiths.

Saber raised her sword to point at the projectiles, which was swallowed by the wraiths. "Do you approve of such trickery?" She asked with a hint of disgust in her voice.

He smiled. "I see that you are not happy with it as well."

"Of course." She replied, huffing. "I disapprove of such Magus trickery in a fair fight between knights. They disgrace our fight."

"But, there is something contradicting in what you had said," Assassin remarked coolly. "If you are someone who lives along with his knightly oaths, then you should tell me your name."

"Ha, well said." She replied, placing a hand on the Secret of Pedigree. "Very well, I shall tell you my true name, in respect with my knightly oaths."

Before she took off the helm, a calm and royal voice resonated through the battlefield, halting her.

"There is no need for you to take it off. I know who you are..."Pause. "... Mordred."

Saber looked up in anger at the voice of her "father" and snorted in disgust. She was still just like how she had remembered. Arthuria's eyes still bore no emotion when she looked at her, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"You bastard!" She roared. "How dare you mock me that way?!"

With an angry roar and assistance from mana bursts, Mordred jumped up to meet her father. Arthuria easily deflected Mordred's attacks, sidestepping with precise footwork and drove an elbow into her helm, causing her to stagger backward.

"It seems that you have yet to learn proper manners when you are facing your king and father," Arthuria remarked coldly as she brought Excalibur up to face Clarent.

Mordred shouted in anger, and put her weight on her sword, leaning towards her father. "And you! You are still as distant as I remember you. You have absolutely no idea why I rebelled you, do you? I do not want that throne of yours!"

"You wanted a chance at the Sword in Stone, correct?" She replied, bringing up a leg to Mordred's torso, but she twisted her body and avoided her sword.

But her reply seemed to anger her son even further. She hissed in anger at her father, pointing the tip of her sword at her father's face while she looked on neutrally.

"You are a lousy excuse for a king and father. You think I want the court? You think the crown is all that I want? You are just as inhuman as I remember you! To think that I actually envied you, and looked up to you as the perfect king. I was blind. But you are even worse. Until the very end, until now, you still do not comprehend the feeling of others. You still cannot see what we see. You are still pushing us away, standing in solitude." She spat.

"A king..." She replied. "Walks alone."

" **Why can't you see pass everything?! For once, can't you stand in our shoes, and look through our eyes?! For this once, put down that mask as a king, and just treat us as friends!"** Mordred howled in anguish. She raised her sword ad dashed forward, closing the distance with mana burst. Clarent was jabbed at her throat, but a gauntleted fist rose to deflect it, Excalibur swinging up, slicing through her armor and drew blood. A pained hiss escaped her lips, as Clarent too swung upwards, pushing Arthuria backward, but she planted her feet and sword in the ground, halting her slide.

Mordred moved like a snake, again closing the distance. Using her sword as a pivot, Arthuria swung her leg connecting with her arm, and her son dropped her sword with a clatter to the ground. Assassin dashed in, katana raised, and Arthuria jumped away, pulling her sword out and landing a good distance away.

"Assassin, you?" She asked in shock at the purple haired samurai.

He merely smiled. "Oh, you know my class, that's good. However, I must interrupt this. This noble knight was in the middle of a duel with me. Don't you think it's a little unbecoming of a knight to interfere in such a fight?"

She lowered her sword. "My apologies. I have no intentions of interrupting your fight. However, as a king, I have a responsibility to keep the manners of my knights in check. I apologize for her unbecoming behavior."

Mordred snorted in disgust at the words of her father. "Enough rubbish. I will wake you up from your pretty dreams tonight with my own hands. If you refuse to accept the harsh reality, then I will have to kill you with my own hands."

With an incoherent battle cry, she lunged towards her father, sword raised. Arthuria took her stance as well, ready to face her wayward son.

Assassin looked on exasperatedly. "Wait, what abut our duel?!"

But he received no answer from the red and blue blur clashing in front of him, their duel shaking the Fuyuki night air.

* * *

Archer fired another arrow at the trio below and grinned. However, her grin soon vanished when another arrow connected with it, both shattering into mana. She turned in anger to find another Servant raising a bow, and fired several arrows at her. She quickly raised her bow to parry the attack, knocking the arrows off course. The white haired Servant smirked and fired an arrow at the two Sabers and Assassin, blowing the ground into a crater. All three emerged from the smoke, singed but unharmed. He then dematerialized his bow and dashed forward with his favorite swords, Kansho and Bakuya. The two Servants atop the crane looked on with a surprised expression, but Sakura was already smiling. She knew who the man was, and she knew he was strong in his own unique way.

"What's going on here?!" Atalanta howled, firing arrows at him, but the Servant raised his sword to defend himself. Each copy was shattered after five arrows, but Archer was quick in projecting them. As soon as one of them shattered, another appeared in his hands. It went on until Archer was near enough to land a blow on Vlad, who dodged the blow with the mist surrounding him.

Archer grunted, and Kansho swung low, missing Atalanta who jumped away, firing more arrows. Vlad seemed uninterested in fighting at the moment, as he moved away from the scene silently. Archer decided to let him go for now and focused on the woman before her.

 _Bowmen are useless once they are cornered, but if I let her leave and gain distance, then long range combat will be a problem._

He threw away the swords, again projecting his bow and a spiral shaped sword. The sword changed shape once it knocked. "Caladbolg II!" He shouted, releasing the string. The arrow made straight for Atalanta, carrying a ripple of energy. It exploded upon contact, and she fell from the crane, landing with a thud on the cold concrete ground below. When the smoke cleared, Atalanta was seen sprawled on the ground, covered in blood.

She looked up at the knight in red and black, her eyes burning with hatred. "What sorcery is that?! If thou shalt fight with me, I demand a fair duel!"

He shrugged. "That's my style. If you are not happy about it, feel free to challenge me."

* * *

The cloaked woman watched in amusement at the sight unfolding at Mion Harbour. Her red cloak rippling around her in the night air, her Mystic Code hovering behind her, each glimmering in different colors, enveloping her like an aurora. A raven flew down and landed on her outstretched arm, its beady eyes staring at the Magus. The woman stared back and grinned as the thoughts of her grandfather slid into her mind.

 _Where have you been? Your sister is worried about you._ Came the old man's irritated voice.

She smirked, and sent her thoughts telepathically. _I was bored. You can't expect me to sit in that room the whole day and night right. I need my freedom. Besides, these people are interesting. This little ritual of theirs. It sounds absurd, but at the same time it involves killing, and I love to participate. Do you know where I can get a registration form?_

She almost laughed when she heard the sigh from her annoyed grandfather and her sister's amused laughter. Zelretch palmed his face and groaned. _Enough, I want to see you back here as soon as possible. It is not safe out there, and you know it._

She rolled her eyes at the instruction. _After I finish watching this. This is a great show, and I have a front row seat, so I seriously don't want to miss it for the world._

Again, she could hear his exasperated sigh and her sister's amused laughter. _Grandpa, if we are going to stick to the plan, I have to face them sooner or later as well. I'm just making an early appearance... ...well, much, much earlier than what you planned._

Silence, and then her sister's thought slid smoothly into her mind. _Hey, Daphne... I know this isn't the right time or place to ask this question. But... Will you go back? To where you come from?_

She smiled sadly, and sat down on the edge of the roof, her legs dangling off the roof. She could feel Arcueid's anxiety on the other end, but she needed to think things over. It was a delicate matter to them all. Finally, she answered verbally and telepathically.

 _I don't know. What I remember, what I know, it's all because of you two. You saved my life, saved me from a never ending curse, and I'm thankful for that. You are my family, now and forever. I will stay with you. This is my home._

Arcueid sniffed at the other end, with Zelretch draping an arm across her shoulders. He smiled inwardly at the answer. _But my child, wouldn't your family be worried about you?_

 _If they are worried, they would've found me a long time ago. The fact that I'm still with the both of you is the best proof of it. No matter who my family was, they have clearly given up a long time ago._

 _But, Daphne..._

 _Wait, grandfather, more people are in the game now. I have to watch this. Don't worry, my familiar will give you a direct show too. Just get the crystal orb from my room._ She said urgently, her gems flashing quickly now.

 _Not too much collateral damage, alright. I don't want to hear complaints from the Church or Lorelei. And if any of that happens, you're grounded._

She rolled her eyes at the thought of being grounded. It was simply absurd, but she is not going to say anything about it. _Fine..._

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura and Rider continued to watch in awe at the two Heroic Spirits which managed to hold out to the second part of the war ten years ago. Rider remembered because her Master wanted her to remember. But the Japanese swordsman remembered nothing because he had no Master who would remember him, or want him to remember.

Saber, known as the King of Knights in her days of glory. A king who had led victory after victory in every war she fought, establishing peace and harmony throughout the Arthurian empire. However, when she returned from Rome, she found out that her court had been seized by her wayward son, who brought people and knights under her to rebel against their king. She and Mordred fought on the wall of Camlann, and she killed her son. But she was mortally wounded by her son and was left bleeding on the hill above where her people's corpse piled up like a hill. She watched the bloody form of her son and made a pact with the world.

Counter Guardian EMIYA, a man who used to walk the path of justice, and wanted to save everyone more than everything else. He was the kind hearted guy who would do whatever it took to help others, to save others. But, he did not understand that no matter what he did, he could never save everyone. That was his greatest regret in life, the every ideal that he had held was the cause of his death as well. But he was still clinging onto the ideal. He wanted to continue saving people. That was why he too made a pact with the world. But again he was betrayed. In order to save Humanity, he had to kill, the one thing he had been avoiding his entire life, and now he had to do it like an endless cycle. That was when he broke.

"Amazing..." Karma murmured at the sight. "They're so strong, and precise in their swordsmanship. So, this is the power of a true Saber."

Sakura shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint you, but that guy is an Archer." She said, pointing to Archer, who continued to close the distance even as Atalanta kept pulling the distance between them. It was like a cat and mouse game, and the cat was toying with its prey.

"What?!" Karma recoiled in shock. "But... Hell! Who has heard of a bowman who wields swords?! And the fact that he's a dual wielder!"

"Well, he's quite the eccentric one, though. But never mind, just don't doubt his abilities, or there will be hell to pay. Besides, your Assassin doesn't fight like one too." Sakura said with a smile and turned her sapphire gaze around the place. _Nee-san, are you around? He cannot be summoned by anyone else but you. Because you are the missing link in the summoning ritual. Only you can summon this man from the Throne of Heroes._

She looked around for the familiar shade of red clothing, aquamarine eyes and long black hair,and saw none. All that she saw was the clashing of the Servants, and her Senpai and cousin running towards them. The sight of her Senpai was welcoming, but the sight of her blonde cousin immediately cause a sour look to appear on her face.

"It's not her, Rider. I just lost my final hope." She whispered to the lavender-haired Servant, crestfallen.

"Have faith in her. No matter where she is now, she must be in a better place." Rider replied, trying to console her.

Sakura nodded weakly, and hugged her Senpai back, throwing a nod at her cousin. Luvia returned the nod and watched as her Archer faced off another Archer. Then, she saw three swordsmen engaged in a fight, and a regal looking man standing on the crane.

"What's going on here? If all the seven are here, then my eyesight is definitely poor, because I don't see a Caster or Assassin or Berserker. And there seems to be more Sabers and Archers around than what I originally expected." Luvia questioned. "Any ideas?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"No, not even nee-san's notes said anything about this."

Shirou turned to look at Sakura with a serious face, and clutched her shoulders, turning her to face him. "Sakura, we just encounter someone, and I think you should hear this out."

Before he could open his mouth to continue saying anything, Atalanta's enraged howl broke the night.

"I shalt let thou taste my wrath!" She screamed in anger, raising her bow to the sky, nocking an arrow on it.

Archer threw away his swords and sank onto one knee, his eyes closed and chanting something under his breath.

"The Complaint Message on the Arrow : Phoebus..."

"So as I pray, Unlimited..."

"... Catastrophe!"

"... Bladeworks!"

* * *

Behind the scene...

Illya : What do you eat that makes you so **BIG?**

Berserker : Duh, I eat.

Illya : You eat what huh?

Berserker : I love eating dummy bears!

Illya : Not dummy bears, you moron! It's gummy bears!

Berserker : I love to eat People too.

Illya : Pe... People?

Berserker : People yummy! Taste like gummy bears!

Illya : People as in...humans?

Berserker : Not human. People! It's a cereal brand.

Illya : Phew! So, I can eat gummy bears and People to be big?

Berserker : Yes! Eat with me, come!

By : **Caster Medea Nightraven**

* * *

 **A/N**

So here we are again, at the end of another chapter. First off, as usual, a thousand thanks to my beta reader, editor, publisher, messenger girl, **SPR** and my BTS author, **Caster Medea Nightraven**. Thank you for your support. And yes, the previous BTS is by her, though she herself doesn't remember having ever done it. Don't worry, I give credits to the right person.

Second, thank you all for your continuous support. To all those who reviewed, fav and fol, thank you all. I really appreciate the reviews, as many of them gave me constructive criticism and even ideas for my upcoming chapters. Please do continue to support me, and I will do my best too.

I hope you guys like the actions packed in this chapter. I sort of suck at writing this kind of things, so please forgive me if it feels like the work of a kid. And I am still one*coughs*. Anyway, this isn't here to tell you all that. And yes, I'm terribly sorry for the cliffhanger, but I'm the sort of author who loves to leave her readers in suspense.

For our mysterious lady, I think it is quite clear who she is in the chapter, and that is not her only trump card. It won't be fun if I were to reveal everything off this early, right?

And, did you guys see the Apocrypha coming? Some of you had already predicted it, so it didn't come as a surprise. But still, I hope I manage to surprise most of you.

Reply to Holix (Guest): Thanks for your continuous support. And like you guessed, they're here for something big.

Anyway, like I said at the beginning of the chapter, this fic will only be continued after another week or two, so this early chapter is to compensate for that. Life and school calls, and I have to return for now. Rest assure that this work will be continued, just like I promised.

Last but not least, please R&R. See you guys next time. **Tohsaka Rin** , over and out!


	5. Chapter 5

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

A/N So hey guys, here I am. Sorry about this late update, but I had tons of work to finish. Most importantly, I was out of ideas and the kick to write, and that's what we call an author's block. Sucks. But don't worry, I'm not dead yet. I'm alive, though struggling with the stress of coursework and exams. My trials start on next week, so updates take a longer time to be done. I'm seriously sorry about things, but I'm really busy here, so hope you guys can understand my situation here. I hope you guys like the battle I put in the last chapter, and I'll do my best for the upcoming chapters too. And I'm really grateful for your continuous support, I really appreciate them. If there's anything that you guys would want to ask, feel free to review or PM me, I'll be sure to reply you guys.

To Holix : Hmm, so the OC reminds you of Rin? Pity she was killed off so early, right? And yes, its is just like what you said. Though enough conceptual weight might be able to override things as well. As for Sakura, she will be OOC here, considering that she no longer has those worms inside of her, and lives on with the sole purpose of revenge. Rin huh? Yeah, she might be, let's see, shall we? As for Mordred, I agree with you on that, wonder why I've never thought of that.

That's enough rambling from me. On with the story then. Enjoy.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

She watched in veiled amusement at the sight unfolding before her eyes. Though she had no interest in the war between the seven Magus, she was amused by the presence of the summoned Heroic Spirits, even when they were just copies of their real person. True Heroic Spirits were too difficult to control, hence they were summoned into the seven vessels. This much she knew. But she just couldn't understand the fuss over a silly little cup which might turn out to be a fairy tale in the end.

A fat raven sat on her shoulder, its beady eyes observing the battle as well, and was sending live footage to her family, who was staying hidden in the Fuyuki Hyatt, worrying about her safety and at the same time excited to watch the battle to gather information for their next step, which was to create as much havoc a they could without being reprimanded. She could feel their anxiety on the other side of their communication, but she chose not to pay any heed to neither of them, instead focusing on the scene unfolding before her eyes. It was not an everyday sight, after all, to see heroes from all eras gathering together in a life or death fight.

Lancer was as calm and neutral as ever, standing with his arms crossed, and stood well to one side of the battle. His eyes swept over the place, his lips moving a little once in a while, his black robes billowing around him in the night air. He seemed to notice her presence and turned to look at her in the eyes briefly, smiling before turning away. She was not surprised by his actions. To her, he was not the enemy at the moment, since he lacked the interest in the fight.

The two Sabers; father and son, king and knight continued to clash head on, the sound of their swords ringing through the place. An invisible but famous sword met the onslaught of an equally famous sword,with neither of them holding back, now that it was clear to them that the only was to end the feud between them was to end the other's life. Each attack was precisely parried and beautifully counter-attacked. Their footwork was precise, the way they carried their swords were flawless. Such was the skills of two of the best swordsman in the history. Assassin was not far behind with his katana. He would occasionally rush into the battle between those two, and land strikes on them both, mainly mere scratches on armor, nothing more. They were too nimble to get slashed by his sword.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the two Archers continued to confront each other with arrows. However, do not forget the fact that there was an Archer who did not fight like an Archer among those two. The Servant in red and black parried the attacks with swords, then attacked with his simple bow, causing the woman to howl in rage, and snarling in anger.

Rider, on the other hand, was busy defending the Masters with her sphere of chains, which had increased to four by now, and somehow her gaze was directed at Lancer, whom she had identified as the enemy.

She let her mind wander, let her memories came rolling in, pushing and coursing through the cobwebs of time, and returned to the pain and darkness she woke up with all those years ago.

* * *

Ten years ago... (Daphne's POV)

 _Pain..._

 _All I feel is the pain..._

 _Pain when the numbness left me..._

 _Pain which is so excruciating..._

 _The darkness...and more pain..._

 _That was all I could feel..._

 _It was all I was capable of feeling..._

 _Nothing else was there..._

 _All I want is to return to only darkness and numbness..._

 _I wanted the numbness..._

 _I don't want to feel..._

 _I don't want to see..._

 _I don't want to hear..._

 _Enough... This is enough..._

 _Please... I beg of you... let me go... spare me..._

I was cold, my body was heavy. The sensations slowly returned to my limbs, causing tingling sensation to be felt in my fingertips and I could soon feel and hear the mud lapping around me. The pain was simply unbearable, it felt like being run over by a truck. The mud had stopped corroding my limbs, but it was still lapping against me, the negative emotions of the curses swept up at me, threatening to consume me. The feeling caused bile to rise in my throat, and the contents of my stomach to come up as well.

With the last ounce of energy I had left, I turned to my side to allow the acidic colloid solution to exit my mouth. Struggling to open my eyes, all that greeted me was darkness. Nothing moved, except for the lapping mud. Nothing was heard, except for my gasping breaths and the gurgling mud. That was all there was, me and the mud and darkness.

 _How much time do I have left?_ I was well aware that I was dying. I barely had enough mana in me to support life, to even push the blood around or to take a breath in.

 _Is this... Is this how everything will end?_

 _Will I truly die here, a place where nobody would ever know, and disappear into this mud which had taken countless lives? Will I just become another forgotten soul?_

I closed my eyes and waited for it. The final breath. But it never came. I continued to struggle for breath, I continued this worthless struggle to stay alive. It was ugly how futile my attempts were, and how much I wanted to die but I couldn't. I raised a fist weakly and hit the mud, splashing it around and some landed on my exposed skin, and I could hear and feel my skin being burnt and blistered, though not as serious as it was in the beginning.

What were the hopes for me to survive? It was all useless, nothing was worth fighting for anymore. Nothing was, nothing will. Enough... all this is enough.

 _Are you giving up?_ A voice echoed around me or was it in my mind, I could not tell. The voice was pleasant, and it sounded like thousands of people talking all at once.

"There is no hope... _"_ I answered weakly, closing my eyes.

 _Join me, and I will help you... It is not too late... You can be saved..._

"No, enough... I don't want to feel all this anymore..."

 _Then come with me... I will take away all the pain..._

"Will you? Will you really?" I asked, reopening my eyes, wanting to believe. Would this voice really be able to save me from all this pain? After everything which had happened in my life, I didn't know who or what to believe anymore.

 _Yes, join me, join your new family, and I will give you everything you wanted... Power, life , a brand new future..._

"I... I... I don't know... Everything's too hazy..." I replied, closing my eyes. I was too tired. I just wanted to end things.

"No, she will not follow you...yet. She has duties to perform." Another voice joined the first. This one was deep and gruff, definitely a male.

 _Don't jest me, you old geezer..._ The voice, or voices, sounded a little annoyed. I couldn't be sure. My mind was too hazy, everything was hazy. I wanted to return to the darkness and numbness.

"Likewise, Alaya. The child will stay under my care." The man said again, firmly.

 _I don't trust you..._

"Same. We're mutual in this. Listen, her journey has not yet ended. She will stay."

There was a momentary silence before the voice spoke again. _Very well... But she will be claimed one day. Our pact has been sealed._

"Wait..." I managed to croak out. "Take me with you..."

 _I can't... At least not now. We will meet again some day, my child... Do not worry, I will be watching over you..._

I opened my eyes and tried to reach out to whoever it was, but my arms failed me, and landed with a splash onto the mud. Footsteps were heard moving through the mud towards me, and I tried to see who it was. But my vision was hazy. All that I saw where a pair of boots, and the feeling of strong arms carrying me up. I leaned my face against the warmth and tried to see the face of my savior. All that I saw before the darkness engulfed me was a pair of crimson eyes which shone like rubies in the darkness.

I didn't know how long have I been out. The lights through the drapes woke me up from a long slumber, and I squinted against the brightness. I needed time to adjust. Muffled voices could be heard, a woman and a man. The voice of the man sounded like the one who saved me the other day, but the woman' s voice was one that I had never heard before.

I opened my eyes once more and was greeted by the sight of the canopy of a four poster, red in color. Red, like the eyes of that man. The man who saved me. I turned my head to the source of the light and saw curtained French door, the sunlight stealing into the room to join me. Beside it was a bookshelf, piled with hundreds of volumes of books. To the other side was a shelf with various jars and vials, which held potions and specimens. Beside the bed was a small table, and atop it was a basin with a towel, soaked in blood, hanging off the side. Along with these items were a few rolls of bandages, some fresh, the others were used, indicated by the dried blood on it. There was also a glass and a pitcher of water.

Turning my gaze in the direction of the voices, I saw a man, an old man actually, with short, white hair and beard, and those red eyes. He was dressed in a black cape, with animal fur around the collar. I couldn't see what he was wearing beneath the cape, not that I cared anyway. The woman was much younger, a little older than me maybe, with long, luxurious light brown hair, dressed in an elaborate dress with blue and gold. They seemed to be arguing, with the woman raising her voice and the older man trying to pacify her anger. Pain gutted at my side, and a groan escaped my lips, followed by both of them turning to look at me, clear shock displayed on their faces.

The woman was beside me in an instant, sitting on the side of the bed and brushing damp locks of hair from my face. She had the same crimson eyes as him. _Maybe they're related?_ The man stood beside her, his eyes worried as he looked at her.

"Hi... You've been out for a while. How are you feeling now?" She asked.

I tried to speak, but when I opened my mouth, the only voice that came out was a hoarse groan. Had I been reduced to such a state that I couldn't even speak? The man touched the woman's shoulder, who turned to glare at him.

"Let her rest." He said sternly. "Your questions can wait."

"I know." She fired back defiantly. "But will you at least let me ask her whether she would like some water?"

The man frowned at the remark and seemed to understand her point, thus he turned to leave us, closing the door behind him. She then poured out a glass of water and put it on the table. Sliding a hand under my shoulders, she gently lifted me into a position where I could drink the water without spilling it, and I winced at the pain I felt all over my body. She brought the glass to my lips and waited patiently for me to down the liquid.

After that, she lay me down on the bed again, pulling the covers up my chin, then sat on the bed, waiting for me to fall back to sleep.

"Rest. We will talk when you're better."

At her words, I closed my eyes and drifted off into another dreamless slumber.

I didn't know how many days had gone by. Every time I woke up from my slumber, the woman would always be here for me. She cleaned my wounds, fed me, kept me company, sometimes she told me stories or read me a book. She was always sitting in the chair beside my bed. I had no idea when did that appear, silently reading a book or musing. When I spoke, she would greet me with a warm smile and asked me what I needed. She was always so kind to me, and that got me wondering, why? Who was she? Why was she so kind to a complete stranger like me?

Today, I woke up and had some porridge, as she said I could not live on water forever. The porridge was quite nice, but she refused to tell me who had cooked it or what were the ingredients used. I was dying to get my hands on the recipe. Then, she got me a fresh set of bandages and got me sitting up in bed. She then ushered in the man whom she called as Grandfather, and he sat in the chair while she sat on the bed, beside me.

"I suppose I should start by thanking the both of you for your hospitality. I'm sorry to have imposed on you two for so long." I began, meeting them in the eyes.

The lady, Arcueid, whose name I accidentally overheard, smiled and took my hand in hers. "No problem at all. I was bored anyway. And grandpa is quite the bore as well."

"Arcuied..." The old man, Grandpa Zel shot her a disapproving look, then turned to look at me. "I'm sorry for her poor manners."

I shook my head and clutched the covers tight. "I...uh...can I, can I have your names please?"

"I'm Arcueid, and he's Grandpa Zel." She said happily. _Just like I expected._ "What about yours?"

"Huh?" I looked at her, blinking in confusion. "What?"

"Your name," Arcueid said impatiently.

I blinked, trying to get that simple piece of information from my mind. But no matter how hard I tried, none came. Even the life I had before he came to save me, they did not exist. All that I knew was the numbness and darkness I woke up with, followed by the pain. I did not know who I was, or where did I come from. Then, pain washed over me, and I clutched my head, collapsing onto the bed.

"Child?" He asked worriedly.

"My... My head hurts..." I whimpered, trying to tell them what was wrong. "I... I don't remember anything. ..."

That was when they decided to take me in.

Zelretch Kilua Schweinorg and Arcuied Brunestud.

They became my new family. They brought me back with them and I lived with them in London, but for the first three months I was confined to my bed, and as my health was still in bad conditions despite the potions grandfather had gotten for me. My sister, Arcueid, as usual, was always there for me. She was the one who nursed me when I was ill, and she was the one who brought me back onto my feet, but she wasn't the one who took me in as an apprentice to learn magic, as she said her magic was not suitable for me to learn. With her help, I was back on my feet in no time. However, though I was able to get onto my legs, my health was never in peak conditions.

I learned my magic from grandfather, the great Second Magician, and he had commented that I had expensive tastes for having an affinity for gem magic. But my improvement was fast. It felt like I had known the magic ever since I was born. Gem magic, to me, was as natural as breathing. The spells just came to me, and soon I learned all I could from the books in my grandfather's library. Then, I settled down to develop a Mystic Code of my own, though when it came to acknowledgment, he was quite reluctant.

"A bit too over the line, don't you think?" He asked wearily, handing the bracelet back to me.

I smirked at the comment, and took it from his hand, fastening the Mystic Code around my left wrist. "Over the line? Is that coming from the Wizard Marshall known for mayhem? Not exactly something you should be saying, you know."

He glared at me, crimson eyes glowing in anger, and I laughed at the sight, sitting down on the sofa, taking a sip of the brandy. "Grandfather, I wish to go out. "

He took a seat opposite me and looked at me with his crimson eyes. "Why? Are you not happy here with us?"

"No..." I shook my head quickly and looked away from him. Zel has a way of making people uncomfortable with his gaze. "I... I just want to see the world outside. Grandfather, I have been cooped up here for the past five years, and I never complained."

"Daphne, there are people out there who wish to do you harm." He said slowly as if wanting me to absorb every word he had said, and drill the fact into every corner of my mind so I would never forget it. I had heard it thousands of times after I was on my feet, and even before I was on my feet. It was always the same thing, reminding me of the potential dangers outside the guarded walls. I was not a child anymore, damn it!

I stood up and went to the window which gave me a view of the rolling Thames. It was raining outside, pedestrians rushing to their destination, and cars moving slowly down the streets. I took the chance to enjoy the scenery before answering.

"I know you love me. I know that sister loves me. I do appreciate it, especially when my real family left me. I'm grateful for what you've done for me, but, I need to learn to be independent. I can't rely on you both for the rest of my life." I paused, then turned back to face him resolutely. "There's no use for me to develop this Mystic Code if you will not let me go out. I need to face the world someday. You can't keep me in here for the rest of my life."

Zelretch sighed. "Daphne, I know that you want to see the outside world. But..."

I walked over to him and bit my lips in anger. "You must let me. I've recovered enough from my illness to go out. I may not be in peak conditions, but I am strong enough."

He looked at me. His eyes, which were usually strong, were misty. It was at that moment all his years was shown on his face. "It's too early. You're not well enough, and you know it. Your health..."

"I..." I looked at him, my own eyes brimming with tears. And suddenly everything dawned. _He knows..._ "You know, don't you?"

Zelretch nodded slowly. "Please, not yet. Not now. When the time comes, I will let you out. But know this, for now, we will be there for you."

 _Flashback ends..._

* * *

"... Sister, are you listening?" Came Arcueid's worried voice from the raven which perched beside her.

Clearing her throat, she answered. "Yeah, I was listening. What did you say again?"

"Hey, I thought you said you were listening," Arcueid said dejectedly.

She laughed. "Sorry, I was thinking about things."

"Well, I was saying, if you could kick all of their asses like just now, then wouldn't things end much quicker that way?" She said, still a little irritated because Daphne wasn't listening just now.

She thought about the idea over and was about to answer as the lady Archer roared in rage, and arrows rained from the sky, followed by the world which was being torn away and repainted, taking her into the reality marble as well. Unfortunately for her, the raven which served as a familiar was excluded from the ride. Daphne frowned at the fact, a little unhappy as her family was unable to watch the show with her.

She glanced at her in surprise, and before she could put a finger on the landscape around her, the rain of arrows continued. She watched in awe at the back of the man who calmly raised his hand, and all the swords pulled from the ground to engage the arrows. The weapons clashed in a fury, and fireworks projected from the metallic surface, followed by blinding white light of explosion, accompanied by gusts of wind blowing everyone off their feet, blurring their sight, and landing hard onto the ground.

When everything finally ended, she saw clearly how the world was truly like. Barren, desolate dry land with all the swords plunged into them. Ranging in all sizes and varieties, it somehow looked like the treasury of a king, except that the man was supposed to be a bowman when he was alive. But the material of the armor did not register with her. No matter how much she tried to think, she could not place him in any era. The sky, with its melancholy color, giant gears hanging and turning.

She looked back at them and decided that soaring in the sky would be a better option. After all, she was not supposed to be seen by others. _Well, too late to worry about that now, they already know._ With a one count aria, she floated into space, reinforcing her eyes and ears. The two Sabers and Assassin had stopped fighting, looking around them in mixed awe and fear. She could not blame them, though.

 _I mean, who'd heard of a bowman who uses swords,_ _ **and**_ _has a Reality Marble on top of everything else? This man, this Servant, he intrigues me. And this feeling... What is this feeling?_

She continued to watch as all the Servants moved to guard their respective Masters, with Mordred joining Atalanta and Lancer. Archer watched, a smirk clearly visible on his lips. His eyes went to her for a while, and she knew he had noticed her presence, but he did not seem to be interested in telling the rest about her. His molten silver gaze seemed broken when he looked at her, and that left her more puzzled than ever.

 _Just...who is this man? Or rather, who was he?_

Archer had noticed the presence of the cloaked woman and stole a glance at her before turning to face the three enemies they encountered, but he had Saber, Rider, and Assassin on his side should things moved in the way he did not want. He pulled a sword from the ground, laying it horizontally on his open palms, and looked over the craftsmanship and reading its history. He enjoyed the moment of silence, feeling all the eyes on him. It was his world after all.

"With that Noble Phantasm of yours, you could kill all the Servants which are summoned into this war with ease. However everything which exists in this world has exceptions, and in your case, I am an exception to the rules." He looked up at them with his silver eyes and plunged the sword back into the ground.

"I am an Archer, but not just any ordinary bowman. I was a Magus in life, and this was my own and the only thing I had truly mastered. This red, barren, desolate land was the end of my life. But I hold pride in it because it is my ultimate treasure as well."

"Those weapons, I recognized some of them, and I'm sure you are not the owner, Red!" Mordred shouted, and pointed at another Clarent, which rested to the left of Archer. "That sword is mine."

He smiled. "Are you really one to talk when you stole it from your father?" He watched in veiled amusement at the shock on her face, no doubt taken aback with someone knowing her identity without her removing her helm. "I admit, I am not the owner of these swords, but I can wield them, and they do answer my call whenever I need their power. You can go on and test it if you want. This is my world. I will not fall here"

With a ragged roar, Mordred charged forward, Clarent raised high to cut the bowman in half. Archer mouthed something, and multiple swords rose and launched themselves at her. She parried two, and caught one with her hand, throwing the sword aside, and two more grazed her arm and cheek, blood trickling from her wound. More swords resonated with his call, and soon, Mordred had to slow down and eventually halt as the number of swords increased. She parried some, but most got through her defense and lacerated her. A lance lodged itself in her torso, a dagger in her arm, and a halberd nearly sliced her in half. Excalibur Galatine propelled towards her, and sliced her helm in half, revealing a striking similar face to Arthuria. The only difference was their eyes. The younger woman carried clear anger and hatred in her eyes.

"Don't you all dare to mock me. I may look like my father, **but I am nothing like her!"**

"Father?" Both Karma and Sakura echoed in confusion. Luvia merely twitched an eyebrow at the outburst.

Shirou scratched a cheek sheepishly. "I'll explain later..."

But Archer did not let the opportunity pass when it presented itself. While Mordred was having her outburst, weapons were launched, and soon, the petite body was pierced with the weapons, blood poured from the wounds, and the once proud swordsman collapsed to the grounding with a splash in her own pool of blood, trying to prop herself up but failed. Atalanta jumped down and held the other woman in her arms. Her form was disappearing, as the Grail struggled to keep her existence in the world. Lancer, as usual, stood with his arm crossed.

"Let's end this, shall we?" He said coldly, and a sword appeared above the two woman. With a slash from his hand, the sword moved for Modred's neck.

"Archer! Wait!" Arthuria cried out desperately behind him, but she was ignored.

But it never happened. Before the sword made a contact with its target, Mordred's form disappeared, and the sword cut into the ground. Atalanta snarled at him, but the white-haired bowman ignored her.

"A Command Spell, huh?" He turned to Saber, who looked horrified at the feelings portrayed in his eyes.

"Red, shall we call this a night?" Lancer asked, his voice eerie, barely audible.

Archer said nothing but shrugged, and the Reality Marble crumbled. Soon, they found themselves back at the harbor again. Lancer bowed, and disappeared into a cloud of black dust without another word. Atalanta snarled, and dematerialized as well, her glare never leaving the bowman.

The Masters all slumped onto the ground from the exhaustion and shock. More likely the latter. Rider held on to Sakura, who was shaking, while Shirou conversed with Saber in a hushed tone; Luvia and Karma musing and Assassin was nowhere to be seen, though his presence was not too far off. He turned his gaze to the woman, who had taken a place on the crane,her cloak rippling in the wind, a raven perched on her shoulder, a soft smile playing on her lips.

His heart ached at the sight of her. He knew, he knew who she was. But he could not be sure about it. The presence, the aura, it felt different from the one he used to know. But the pendant under his armor was resonating with her presence, and that was enough of a sign. He could stand her gaze and silence no more, so he spoke.

"Who are you?"

* * *

Bazett was watching the fight through her familiar, and she had been fortunate enough to have her familiar being pulled into the Reality Marble as well, giving her an insight into Archer's true abilities, which terrified her to an extent. She was powerful in her own way, as an Enforcer. No matter how good she was in her field, she was just a mortal. Those Heroic Spirits were legends, myth, which had endured for centuries. Their powers were well-known, feared and admired at the same time.

Even Lancer, who was filled with enthusiasm to have a good fight, seemed troubled at the sight he had seen through the projected image. He now sat slouched on the couch, frowning and mouthing something which she could not understand. _No doubt something foul..._

She was troubled as well. If she had seen right, there was two Sabers and two Archers in the fight she had just seen but it should not be happening. For every War, only one Heroic Spirit would be summoned into each class. But what she had just seen shattered all the theories she had gotten from the book in the Association library.

She turned to look at Lancer, who was still mumbling something she could not understand and kicked him in the shin. He jolted up with a start, grumbling. "What?" He asked gruffly.

"This war..." She began, joining him on the couch. "... It is really different from what I had thought it would be, don't you think so?''

He shrugged, not concerned at all. "Wars are like this, Bazett. Things never go the way you had expected, even if you had things planned out years ago. Things change, we just need to follow the flow. Trust me, I know about all this." He ended with a wink.

The Enforcer blushed as her Servant snickered at the sight of her flushed face. She kicked his leg again in revenge, and he clutched his leg in mock pain. They continued to watch as one of the Archers easily took down one of the Sabers, breaking the helm she wore in the process. But before he could deal the finishing blow, the blonde disappeared.

"Did you see that?!" They both exclaimed in unison. The two Sabers looked so alike, as if they had been made from the same mould. But it was impossible. They had been so taken aback by the fact that they looked so similar they paid no heed to the gender of the two knights. After all, trivial matters as such no longer matters.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the city outskirts, a certain Master was also watching through the eyes of a familiar. He was sitting in a cushioned high back chair, a massive giant in dematerialized form stood beside him, growling. Ferdinand von Einzbern sent soothing thoughts to his head and paid his attention to the crystal in front of him. Two combat homunculi stood at each side of the door, eyeing their lord, who sipped red wine while musing things over.

"What do the two of you think about this?" He asked, looking at them.

The one with short grizzled hair cleared his throat and turned to meet his gaze. He was a combat homunculus as well, but he was currently dressed in simple robes of white, a long sword rested by his side. He crossed his arms and thought it over, while his partner, one with a ponytail and a halberd, and dressed similarly, kept quiet.

"My lord, I feel that this is not a place for me to voice my opinions. This is the family's business, and you, my Lord, should know that." He finally answered.

Ferdinand waved him off. "I know what you are trying to say. But do the both of you seriously think I would care about those rules in the first place?'

"But my Lord, surely you need to think like an Einzbern. They would want you to keep their secrets. As one of them, you need to think on their behalf."

He laughed at the comment. "Luther, have you ever seen me being treated as one? Yes, I have better treatment than the two of you, but I'm still a pawn to them . Nothing more than that."

"My Lord, that is not true." Interrupted the second homunculus. "You are our final hope. If we lose the war again, then the Einzberns have no chance to rise back to our former glory."

Ferdinand stood up and turned to look at them. "No, both of you are wrong, Luther, Bertram. We are not the final hope of the Einzberns. The Lady of White is. We are her bodyguards. We are her fighter, that's all we will ever be.'

Both of them nodded sadly at the words. Though they hated to admit the fact, he was true in every word he had said to them. They were tools for the Einzberns. They shared no bond with the noble family. Even if Ferdinand brought the war to a satisfying conclusion, and brought the Grail back to Germany, the victory would be sung in the Lady's name. She was their champion, not them. Not the warriors who risked their lives to win the war.

He took his sword and strapped it onto the belt. The two combat homunculi followed suit. "They have made their moves. Now, it is our turn to show them what we are made of. I'll take over the matter to Lord Acht first. Await my orders."

"Understood, milord." The both of them said in unison.

"We may be homunculi. We may not truly be humans. We may not have any true bonding with the family which created us. But we fight in their names. We fight for the honour of the family. And I, Ferdinand von Einzbern, leader of the quest of the Holy Grail, will show them that we are as good as they are."

* * *

"Who are you?"

Everyone turned to look at him with a confused expression, wondering at who the question was directed at. They turned to the direction of his gaze and saw the woman standing upon the crane. Luvia, Shirou, and Saber cringed at the sight of her, memories of what she was capable of clearly etched into their minds, and neither one of them wanted to experience all that again.

She smiled, amused by the question posed to her at a time like this. As an answer, the woman jumped down, landing gracefully on the ground and took a few steps towards them, the raven watching them with its beady eyes, and sat perched on her shoulder. She stopped around ten meters from them, the smile on her lips never fading.

 _Daphne, come back at once. It's too early to reveal yourself._ Zelretch's urgent voice sounded in her mind, but she ignored it.

With one hand, she pulled back the hood, and long dark hair showered down her shoulders. When she opened her closed eyes, they were a matching pair to Sakura's. The only difference was the occasional flicker of rainbow colors in them. There was no mistake. They were looking at the supposed to be dead Tohsaka Rin.

"Good day, how may I be of assistance?"

* * *

Hi guys, so Caster decided to take a break off the week when I'm writing this, cause she's down with the flu, so I will be taking over the BTS for this chapter. Well, it might turn out to be more of a drama than a real BTS. Anyway, please enjoy this.

Rin : They're dead, aren't they?

Archer : So you've finally realized that.

Rin : ... Maybe... But I wonder...

Archer : Wonder what?

Rin : Why we're left here. The only people left in the world. The explosion of all that mana should've killed us. _All_ of us.

Archer : You know I can't answer that.

Rin : I know. I'm not asking for an answer. Just a thought.

Archer : ... I see.

Rin : ... Lie down.

Archer : What?

Rin : Lie down. Here. With me.

Archer : Uh... Alright. / lies next to her / ... Are you blushing?

Rin : Shut it. Just... keep quiet...or not. There's too much quiet.

Archer : Everything is dead except for us.

Rin : I know, I know... ... Maybe I'll get used to this sound. If it's all that's left, I don't think I'll complain.

Archer : What sound?

Rin : ...your voice. Your heartbeat. Your breathing. If I have to listen to it forever, I don't mind.

Archer : ... Are you trying to tell me something?

Rin : There's nothing to tell. You... you and I , we've known this for a long time.

Archer : ... I know. I think, that's just fine. No words need to be spoken.

Rin : Mm... / curls up next to Archer / ... If ...

Archer : / turns to his side / ... If?

Rin : If I were... if I were to lie here. And just lie here and fall asleep. Next to you. And if I weren't to wake up the next morning...

Archer : I'll just lie with you.

Rin : For how long?

Archer : Forever and ever.

Rin : Loyal to the every end, huh?

Archer : I think I'd be empty otherwise.

Rin : ... ... We aren't being very careful with our words tonight, today. Whatever time it is.

Archer : I don't see a need to.

Rin : ... If I were to sleep now, promise me, I'll hear your heartbeat and your breathing until the very end.

Archer : ... Of course.

Rin : ... Good. / plants a soft kiss on his lips / ... Goodnight, Archer.

Archer : / drapes his arms around Rin / ... ... Goodnight, Rin.

 _The next morning, Rin does not wake up._

 _Archer does not move, still._

 _Silent, motionless and still._

* * *

 **A/N:**

So yeah, hope you guys caught my meaning with this. There might be a sequel to this though. We'll see in time about it.

So, there you guys go. My fifth chapter of the story. I can't believe that the first confrontation between the two factions had ended. It's just the beginning, though. In an Apocrypha, anything can happen. As anything that could go wrong will go wrong.

Next up, the usual round of thanks to my dear friend **SPR** , who had always done more than enough for this fic of mine. Thank you so much for taking time off your schedule for this. I salute you for it, sister. And hopefully, you'll be in peak condition soon, **CASTER.**

So yes, the battle ends for now, but...is she Rin? Or the old vampire decided to make a clone because he was too tired? Well, who knows? And that conversation between the three of them, anyone has any idea on how the war would turn out to be in my version? If you want to know, then read on. Or if you have any suggestions on how you want it to go, leave me a review or PM me. I gladly accept any ideas, and I promise you all that I'll reply to every single one of them, albeit might be a little more than late at times.

And again, like what I had written, my exams starts on next week, and I have a fucking coursework to finish. Damn, I need to start studying, like seriously, or I'm gonna fail it, and things won't be pretty if I really fail it. Hopefully, I'll manage to pull through things.

It's late here, so I'll cut things short here. All in all, thanks for reading, and please leave a review as they keep me going. It's been Rin here, have a nice day. Till next time.

\- **Tohsaka Rin**


	6. Chapter 6

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

 **A/N**

 **Guest :** Well, here's your answer. Remember that a point in life, Emiya Shirou was betrayed by his own comrades, and he was accused of causing the war when he was only trying to stop the war. Indeed, Ciel was the one who had worked with him, gave him the shroud. So the Church would think of her as the perfect candidate to go after him, wouldn't it? She would have knowledge on his style of fighting, skills and so on. That was why I decided to have her going after him in the first place. Hope this answer satisfies you.

 **Holix :** Nice reading from you again. Zel will be a bit OOC here, so bear with him for now. Or you want to see him as the mayhem he is at heart, I can always put in destruction with him behind things. He loves breaking people, Magus are his preferences. But maybe, after being bored for centuries, he might climb up the chain to look for something bigger to break.

Well, Arthuria might not be as heartless as she was before, in the canon fifth war when she was first summoned. No matter what, Mordred's still her blood and kin. Mordred, being the hot-headed rebel she is, words are unlikely to get through that thick skull of hers, though. Let's see it in due time.

And yes, she's the toughest character to write here. No matter friend or foe, she's a major threat to all the present participants, since she deliberately showed herself to them, and kicked their ass hard, even the Saber with high Magic Resistance. That shows how much conceptual weight she has on the damn thing. And yes, Zel and Arc is involved too. With these two mayhems running around, who knows what they will stir up. Yes, hopefully, she understands stuff soon, or Zel would need to beat some sense into her, or perhaps someone she used to know.

A note. I checked the fic you recommended. Indeed, it is an awesome fic.

Again, thanks for the Mordred idea. I'll use it someday when the time's appropriate.

That's enough from me, let's move into our story.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Mordred appeared in a shower of red at the feet of her Master, who as usual, was seated casually on his so-called "throne" with the other Maters of the faction. She fell with a sickening thud to the floor, the blood which poured from her wound was pooling around her. Her breathing came in fast and raspy, with more blood gurgling from her mouth. Mordred raised her head to meet her Master's icy gaze and immediately shrunk at the sight she saw.

As usual, her young Master was clad in a blue satin shirt with a gray vest over it, with matching pair of black trousers and black leather shoes. His face, youthful yet hard, carried the regal air of a noble family. His mop of short golden hair was brushed to the back of his hair. His gaze was as emotionless as usual. And that was exactly what she feared. Even after such a fight, such ungraceful defeat, there was not a hint of emotion on his face. It was as if the young man had no feelings in him, just a machine who worked on for the sake of living. And he reminded her too much of her "father".

"What do you have to report?" He asked, his voice coming out like an eerie whisper. "I had just wasted a precious Command Seal to bring you back here."

Mordred hung her head low. "My lord, as a knight, I vow I will bring you the enemy head next time. Although I had been greatly injured, but the information that we had gathered about them would be enough for us to face them in our next encounter. My lord, thank you for pulling me out from that disadvantageous situation."

He nodded and beckoned the Servant at the door to come in. "Leave my sight, Caster will tend to you."

"Understood, my lord." She replied, trying to stand up. Caster, a gentleman dressed in archaic green stepped forward and helped the knight up, bringing her away from the room, ignoring the gaze of the seven assembled Masters, and the sight of a homunculus cleaning the blood off the floor.

Vlad and Atalanta appeared next, bowing to their respective Masters, but their Masters immediately dismissed them without a word. They disappeared in another shower of dust after another bow and joined the other Servants on guard duty.

"Quite a nice little outcome, no?" Whispered the woman at the left of Saber's Master, who was the Master of Archer. Her eyes were the color of amethyst, and her face was a little flushed due to the wine she had been drinking. Her long dark hair was let loose, the curls framing her face. A long, sleeveless, blue dress was her choice, simple but elegant, with a pair of ivory heels to finish.

"Your meaning, Charlotte?" Saber's Master asked.

The woman, Charlotte Krestein, seventh head of house Krestein, tipped her wine glass at him and smiled. "Dense, aren't you?" And chuckled at his frowning face. "Indeed it is a pity that we failed at this first attempt. However, did you notice that the so-called Red Faction had yet to grasp the truth of this Holy Grail War?"

"Charlotte is right." Came the voice of Lancer's Master, to the right of Saber's Master. A Magus in his late twenties with a lean face, his brown hair swept over one eye, who goes by the name Francis von Einandros. His clothes were simple business wear, suiting for someone holding the position of the director of a business firm in the world besides being an influential Magus. "They seemed to be confused that there are more Saber and Archer in this War. Could it be that they had yet to know that this is an Apocrypha? Beowulf, what do you think?"

The Master of Saber, Beowulf Rozenvalt thought about it. "Perhaps you're right, Francis. It is something that we could consider. After all, from what we had gathered from our familiars near the harbor, they seemed to be fighting among the same Faction. It is clear that they don't know that an Apocrypha has been triggered. Hence, we have the advantage now, and we should use it wisely. All the seven of the Blue has been gathered, and before the Red could ally themselves with each other, we should take the opportunity to wipe them out, fast."

"I second your proposal, Beowulf." Replied Assassin's Master, a young girl with silver white hair and sea blue eyes. Dressed in a simple white shirt and long black trousers, and calf high boots to match. Over it was a black trenchcoat, and none of them noticed the firearm she had strapped to her belt. If the need arises, she was sure she could take three of them down before the Servants arrived at their aid. She was the daughter of Natalia Kaminski's younger sister, Yvonne Kaiz.

"Likewise..." Replied the other Masters

Beowulf didn't make a reply to things. Instead, the Masters took their leave at a wave of Beowulf's hand. Only him, Charlotte, Francis and Yvonne remained in the room.

"I'm curious, Wolfie, why would you exclude the rest from our discussion?" Charlotte purred and smiled at him.

He glared at the nickname she used but decided to let the trivial matter pass. He was a Magus, and he shouldn't behave like a kid when another practitioner called him names. He needed to act with elegance. "I don't trust the London faction, and you know it. I don't care if they are the so-called elite nobles among the Association, I just don't trust them."

"Backstabbing idiots?" Francis offered, stifling a chuckle of him own.

"Something like that," Beowulf said distastefully.

"But still, one of them is a lord. And the other, well, you know... Not to mention the third one, whom I could gather no information on." Francis said, hoping for the guy to get his meaning. It would be unwise if they annoy the Association in this competition, even if it was being held in the backwaters of the Association.

But Beowulf waved him off. "I care not for the man. He will be dealt with in the second phase of the war. As well as the other two. Better yet, let them be killed by the Red now, so we have less trash to deal with when the time comes."

Yvonne leaned forward in her seat. "But our enemy has already seen our three knight classes. Wouldn't it be better for us to deploy the rest of the Faction for the attack, instead of relying just on the three of them?"

"Before we decide who will lead the assault, we have yet to know the enemy's base. Besides, they are so spread out it is impossible for us to hit them all in one go." Francis remarked.

Beowulf nodded in agreement. "I concede it. But think of things in this way, brother. Right now, the Red Masters had just known that there might be another group of Magus out there, trying to eliminate them. The four which had known of our existence will surely group together to formulate a strategy, correct? Under such circumstances, where will be Masters be?"

Charlotte purred again. "Good point, Wolfie. The Tohsaka residence is a highly protected mansion, but I doubt that the Tohsaka heiress would let anyone into her stronghold. Not to mention how much family secret she had in it. Two of them are foreigners, so they must be staying in a hotel or something. Not exactly a wise place to use as a base, correct? That leaves only the Emiya boy's house."

"Emiya huh? Leave the brat to me. I will deal with him personally." Yvonne hissed, every word dripping with venom. Her hatred towards the Emiya clan was well known to the entire Blue Faction, and they all knew quite well to stand out of the way if the topic on Emiya was brought up in their discussion.

After all, her aunt, Natalia Kaminski was killed by his father twenty years ago. It was time for revenge.

* * *

Rin, the woman who had caught his heart ever since he first set his eyes on her. The perfect school idol (when she's in public of course), the powerful Magus. She was the light of his life. In this universe, in this domain where he was summoned to fight again in the ritual, Saber had just told him that she died in the Holy Grail War ten years ago, and had never been seen then. He didn't need to turn to see the shock on their faces. He could feel it.

The shock. The surprise. The disbelief. The fear of all this was just another illusion.

But it wasn't. Now, here she was, standing right here before his eyes. She looked exactly the same as the last time he saw her, whenever that was. Her sharp feline features, those aquamarine eyes which shone like precious stones. Her long luxurious dark hair that hit her hips, free from the twin tails she used to have, gently moving with the soft breeze. That playful smile she always had when she had something mischievous planned out.

He missed it all. Serving Alaya for so long, and he had almost forgotten how she was like. How he would react in her presence. He missed everything about her. Even if things were just another illusion, he was glad he could lay his eyes on her again.

"Rin?" He called out to her, but he merely received her smile as an answer. His hands were shaking, his mind going blank as he kept staring at her like an idiot. His mouth was opening and closing, like a fish out of the water, struggling for breath. Well, he was struggling for words.

She stood where she was. And her expression was not that of someone having a reunion with those she had not met for years. It was not the expression of meeting with her lover again. It was the gaze given to complete strangers. She seemed to recognized none of them, she did not walk forward to hug them or say anything.

 _Or she's trying to pull our leg..._

He tried to convince himself with that thought but the longer he looked on, he began to see the difference between the Rin standing before him and the Rin in his memories. Her eyes were not truly blue. There was a flicker of a rainbow then and again. And the mana she possessed was different from what he remembered. It felt like an ocean, calm on the surface, but beneath it was a boiling mass of raw power. Pure power raging under the restraints of her conscious mind, and that was an incredible feat. There was no doubt she could control that power, and if she really could, hell, he needed to come up with a plan to run.

"Rin?" He called again, and again he received no answer from the girl. At least not verbally.

Daphne raised her hand, the sleeve falling back to reveal a bracelet with seven gems. "Diamond Prism ..." She said slowly, and seven gems appeared behind her, hovering in the air in a perfect heptagon and glittering, bathing her in an aurora.

Archer cursed inwardly at the sight, immediately projecting several A-rank blades to counter the beam. From his previous experience, he knew it would be hard to throw the beam off course with his swords, but he needed to at least buy time for his Master to escape. He briefly turned, and saw them already on the run, with Shirou pulling a reluctant Sakura with him.

 _No doubt that she wanted to talk to her, but damn it, Sakura, this isn't the time._

Saber, Rider, and Assassin all appeared alongside him, weapons raised. They knew they had to buy time for their Masters to escape, even if it meant their deaths here.

"Be careful of her beams. They are hard to deflect and run if you have to. In the worst scenario, I'll take her down with me." Archer whispered to the three. Saber and Rider both cast him worried looks, and wanted to say something to the Archer, but swallowed the words back after a glance of his expression. The samurai merely nodded at his words.

Rin, or rather Daphne now, smiled as her diamonds moved in front of her, forming three rotating triangles and one alone, at the center of the other three. "Done chit-chatting? The two of you should really have taken my lessons to heart. Oh well, I was being nice for waiting for you people to finish talking anyway."

Without another word, the gemstones started to glow and fired without another warning. Saber dashed forward, Excalibur taking the full blow, and pushing the blonde off her feet. She somersaulted in the air, narrowly missing the beam, which sizzled by her head, and swiftly rolled away after hitting the ground, only for another beam to fire at her, and missed. Assassin and Rider rushed in this time, but the two were easily blown away due to them having no experience with the Mystic Code. Archer's projected sword moved in, effectively reflecting the beam elsewhere, damaging the area around them.

Smoke pillars rose from the ground, cratered and cracked. The containers around them melted from the intense heat from her beams. The crane bent, and slowly broke in half, landing with a tremendous noise to the ground.

Daphne seemed amused, but with another wave of her hand,the rotating gems combined to form a heptagon, the energy cultivating and ready to be fired. She lowered her hand, and the beam fired, once more heading for Archer. The man crossed his swords in a defensive manner, but the beam diverged at the final moment, moving for Rider and Assassin instead. The two were again blown away, and landed with a crash to the ground, their attire and skin burnt and singed, unmoving.

Archer bolted forward recklessly, his swords raised high for an overhead strike. Rider and Assassin were still sprawled on the ground, trying to get up after getting the full blast from Daphne. They have low magic resistance, albeit stronger than him. But with that kind of attack, it would take some time for them to get back up to their feet. Not to mention that taking a few more blows from the monster would possibly kill them off.

 _I have to stop her, no matter what. She doesn't know what she's doing now. I don't want her to wake up from all this, regretting what she had done._

He brought the sword down hard, but one of the gems exploded in his face, pushing him behind, but a projected sword appeared plunged into the ground, and with him stepping onto the sword, and using the momentum to flip himself back at Daphne, who smirked and launched more beams at him.

Two totally missed him, but one hit an arm, and the red bowman grunted from the pain of his broken arm but held onto his swords. Another made for his leg, and he jumped over it, again closing the distance between them. But this time, his sword came to halt near her neck, and she merely smiled at him, her gems hovering around them.

"Why are you doing this to us?" He asked in a low voice, his sword pressed against her neck, but not enough to draw blood. No matter what others might say, no matter how many years had passed, no matter how broken he had become, he had a soft spot for her.

Daphne looked at him in the eyes. He tried to read what was behind her icy gaze, but he saw nothing in them except the occasional flicker of light in them. Those light behind her irises, they seemed familiar to him. Too familiar that it was beginning to send shivers down his back.

"You asked why? No reason actually. I was bored, so I decided to crash the party." She said with another smirk of hers.

He looked shocked by her answer. "Bored? That's your reason for coming here?"

"Of course, otherwise why do you think I'm here?"

He choked back the tears and stole a look at Sakura. The Masters had stopped running away. He realized that she must've set up a bounded field when no one was noticing. She was quietly sobbing in Shirou's arms, as the reality sank into all of them. Luvia was eyeing them warily, so was Saber and Rider, whereas Karma and his Servant merely looked on neutrally.

She smiled, and his eyes widened in shock before his sword dropped from his hands, clattering to the ground with a metallic clink to the ground, and he sank to his knees next. Collective gasps came from behind him, but he could not hear them. The pain came in next, from his chest. He looked down and saw blood pooling around him, a hole in his chest. Blood seeped from his mouth, and the world was beginning to crush his existence in the world.

"Rin? Why?" He managed to croak out.

She smiled. "I'm bored, remember?" She replied mockingly, looking down at the Servant, who struggled to get up.

He stood up shakily, ignoring the gaping hole in his chest. "You're not her..."

"Archer, dematerialize!" Luvia called, sensing the dangerous aura of the woman, and he immediately disappeared into a cloud of red mist. Luvia began to channel more mana trough their link, keeping his existence in the world.

"Oh? Are you all that afraid to die?" She asked, still smiling. She returned her Mystic Code to its default form, and pulled the hood over her head, leaving only the lower half of her face exposed.

Sakura stepped forward, taking confident strides towards her. Luvia moved to intercept her, but with a look from Sakura, she stepped back again.

"A Magus walks with death." She said resolutely.

"You've taken your lessons to heart it seems. However, do you really think it's true? A Magus walks with death? Don't jest me, young lady. Magus are humans after all. No matter what, we tend to place ourselves above all other things."

Sakura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again. "No."

"What?" Daphne asked, startled by Sakura's answer. "What do you mean by no?"

"I don't live for the sake of myself. I live... I live for the sake of my deceased sister."

Daphne laughed at her words, hugging herself at it. "For the dead huh? Your sister would be happy to hear that. Too bad she wouldn't. Dead people should just stay in their graves, nothing more. And the living? They say they live for the sake of the dead, but how true is it? How true is your resolution?"

She hung her head low. "Are you doubting me?" She said sadly, unwilling to meet her gaze.

"Did I hit a nerve?" She asked mockingly. "I would love to see you despair, however, my grandfather will be angry if I continue to speak to you." She turned and began to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura called, but she did no turn back. Shirou and Luvia held her back when she tried to go after Daphne, but the other woman glared at her, a beam blasting the ground beside the three Magus before the air around her shimmered and she disappeared.

"A spatial teleportation spell, with no aria. Amazing... " Luvia and Karma murmured.

But Sakura was not watching all that. She sank down onto her knees, crying openly. Rider and Shirou both knelt down to comfort the woman, who buried her head in Shirou's chest.

"She doesn't remember..." She said, crying hard. "Ten years, senpai, ten years... For all this time, we thought she was dead. But now, when we had the chance to see her again, she remembered nothing. Not you, not Archer, not me..."

Shirou pulled Sakura closer to him, stroking her hair. He wondered what his alternate future self was thinking. Luvia had requested him to dematerialized to heal himself, but he could guess what he was feeling now. His beloved woman had appeared in front of him, but she had tried to fry all of them to death, and that wasn't something they liked.

"Ten years, Tohsaka. You said it yourself." Luvia stated calmly. "There's no telling what had happened to her in this time. Nobody had seen her for years, and Sherou was the only witness at the time.

"Hey, are you implying I lied about things? You know I wouldn't do something like that. I even gave the Association a memory imprint!" He retorted, a little heated.

Luvia shrugged at the comment but said nothing on the matter. "Tohsaka, enough of wallowing yourself in sadness. You're here to fight a war, not crying over a woman who has amnesia and decides to fry you to death. You do have bigger fish to fry than that."

She sniffed and pulled herself away from Shirou, who continued to eye her worriedly. "I'm fine now, senpai. Edelfelt-san is right. We have a war to fight. If she really is nee-san, I'll bring her back to us after the war, no matter what the cost will be."

"You're right,, Sakura." He agreed with his bright smile. His shy underclassman surely had grown up over the years, building up her confidence to face the world. "Tohsaka belongs with us. Now come on, dawn's arriving, and we should really get some rest before night arrives again."

* * *

Bazett sat back on the couch, silently musing over things. Lancer was busy gorging himself with the tarts she had ordered with room service. He seemed to pay no heed to watch any fights unless he was the one doing the fighting. Except for the revelation of the two Sabers on the field, he just kept to himself.

The cloaked woman left the scene, and her observation orb dimmed, finally losing focus on the battlefield. She turned to look at the blue haired spearman, sighing in exasperation. He was a great fighter, but he can be an annoying Servant at times too. He looked up at her, saw her grim expression and immediately wiped his mouth with a napkin, throwing the used object aside and focused on her.

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed, Lancer?" She asked the Irishman who smirked in response. "It seems that this is no ordinary Holy Grail War we got ourselves into. In other words, this is an Apocrypha, and we'd need to face more Servants than the traditional war."

Lancer laughed, smashing his fists together. "Well, it's not a bad news to me, though. Something bigger and merrier gives me more chance to fight, to feel my blood boil and course inside me. That's why you summoned me in the first place, ain't it? I'm not going to back out now."

Bazett smiled at him and nodded. "You deserve a good fight, Lancer. You're just a simple man with simple wishes. Even with the omnipotent wish granting tool in front of you, I bet all you ask from it will be a good fight."

He snickered but didn't say anything about it. "Since that red-head I tried to kill twice seems to be on our side, I reckon we get over to his place."

"You tried to kill Emiya twice?!" She asked in shock. With that spear of his, one strike was all it took to take a life. Yet, Lancer had failed to kill the boy after twice.

"Yeah, hate it too 'cause it hurts my pride as a hero, but that kid's got abilities, I'll give him at least that," Lancer remarked, still snickering. "This time, I'll make sure he dies for sure."

Bazett sighed, and took up her gauntlets, sliding the specially made one onto her stump first, channeling mana through it, getting the sensation of the artificial limb, then putting the other one on. Lancer whistled at the sight, and she shot him a weird look, clearly asking for a reason for his behavior.

"Nothing." He said with a shrug. "Don't be touche. I was just admiring that piece of work. It's a real piece of work, I'd tell you that."

She waved him off. "Had it specially made after the priest nearly took it off. It uses blood magic to bond, so nobody would be able to use it except me. Kind of gives me an advantage just in case it's stolen, because it can't be used, unless the person's a Fraga."

He whistled again, this time she did not glare at him. Instead, she gave him a soft smile and ushered the spearman to follow her. He dematerialized, silently following, but that did not mean he would stay silent in her head.

 _Bazett, that woman we saw, could it be?_

 _I don't know. I don't deny the fact that I met her ten years ago, but she was just a girl in her late teenage years. And... her sister Sakura was sure that she did not survive the war ten years ago, no matter what the outcome was._

He was silent for a while before communicating with her. _I'm sure it's her, Bazett. I met her, helped her. She may not be the little girl I saw back then, but that simply means she has grown up._

 _Yeah, grown up enough to turn against her own family..._ Bazett replied with a frown, pressing the down button of the elevator.

 _Hey, I'm not saying that I'm a genius, and not everything I say is right, alright? I'm a fighter, woman, not a strategist. You mortals do the thinking. We spirits do the fighting around here. I thought we had an agreement on that._

She laughed, stepping into the newly arrived elevator, pressing the button. _Someone's getting touche here._

 _Hey, stop it..._ Lancer said with a groan. _If you wanna get to the kid's place, don't push my buttons._

 _Right..._ She replied, silently stiffling another laughter.

* * *

Appearing in a shower of mist, the brunette took off her cloak, throwing the said piece of cloth onto the couch before sinking into another one, lying down and closing her eyes. She felt the need to calm herself down in the silence she momentary had. Her grandfather and worrywart sister would be there at any moment.

She put a hand over her closed eyes, sighing and turning the events over her head again. Too much had happened in one night, and she certainly was regretting the decision to show them who she was, though she had no idea why they were so worked up with things.

The door opened and closed, but she paid no heed to things. The person sat down on the couch opposite her and sighed. "You want to talk about things?"

"No..." She replied tiredly. "Too much had happened, and I need time to sort things out. ... Can you, leave me alone?"

She did not hear his reply for some time. Finally, another sigh came, and his cape rustled as he stood up to leave. "Don't take too long, though. Arcueid is worried about you, and I don't know how long I can keep her in the bonds."

Daphne chuckled slightly. "It'd be amusing to watch her."

Zelretch snorted. "I rather not be here when she does. Be quick alright. We have a lunch meeting with Lorelei later"

"Sure, sure... I remember that lunch with the annoying Queen..." She answered, irritated. Then she realized something and bolted up from her seat, and yelled before the old vampire could leave the room. "WAIT! What the hell did you just say?! Lorelei?! As in the Vice Director of Clock Tower?! The hell?!"

Zelretch turned to meet her sapphire gaze with an amused grin. She frowned at the sight. It would seem that the old man had deliberately kept things until the very last minute to tell her, again. She hated him so much whenever that happened, especially if she already had things planned out.

"Fuck, did you forget to tell me again?" She said heatedly, feeling the blood rushing to her head.

He smirked, his eyes glowing. "Perhaps..."

She eyed him dangerously. "You're not thinking about bringing sister along right?"

"Guess not, why?" He asked innocently.

Daphne fought back the urge to hit him with her gem's full power and beat some sense into his head. "You think the lunch will go on smoothly if you bring her along? You yourself is enough of an annoyance to her, and you know it, don't you dare go making things messy."

He laughed. "I won't bring her, don't worry about that. I don't want her to go after our heads in her prime after all."

"Good to know that you at least have a brain. Come on, I'll go see sister." Daphne said, stretching her limbs and walking towards the door. "I don't want her to whine when she sees me later."

He closed the doors behind him, and the both headed down the corridor in silence. The candlelights on both sides illuminated the place in an eerie gloom, and the oil paintings were rather scary under such circumstances. But the both loved things just the way it was, and even added more decorations to the massive store it originally had, totally forgetting that it was a hotel, and it was a temporary stay. They seemed to have renovated the place so much it looked like their manor back in London.

"So, ready to talk about things yet?" Zelretch was the first to break the long silence. He glanced down at his adopted grandchild, silently examining her facial expression.

Her aquamarine eyes seemed unfocused for a moment, with a touch of deep crimson flickering. "Maybe..." She looked up at him and exhaled deeply. "So, what do you want to know?"

Zelretch tore away his gaze. "Nothing much. Just what did you people talk about, and why did you show yourself to them."

She shrugged, and smile at the question. "Old man, you don't seriously expect me to stay in here the whole time right? I was damned bored in my rooms, and I needed to test my Mystic Code. Lab test had been conducted, and things went well. But I needed to know how much collateral damage it would do if I were to release its full power."

He frowned at the explanation. "You know, I did offer to give you a Kaleidostick, but you refused."

She snorted at the idea, feeling amused and disgusted at the same time. "Not for the world, old man. The last time I took your advice, I turned into someone really humiliating."

"Oh, that..." He stated with a smirk, and the younger woman punched him playfully, at the same time sending him a glare which meant, _I will kill you if you dare to even think about it..._

"As for what we talked about, to be honest, nothing much. I again got bored looking at them chit-chatting in the middle of a fight, so I interfered, and took the chance to test out Diamond Prism. I must say, though, it's definitely my magnum opus." She said proudly.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the remark. If she called that her magnum opus, he had no idea what the rest of the things in her workshop was called. He couldn't even recall how she had gotten all the supplies in the first place. The moment he realized things, it was already too late. The brunette had already finished crafting her first Mystic Code. He had tried to interfere, and the enraged Magus burnt down half of his mansion in the progress and took him a lot of effort to stop things from being known to the Association.

A True Ancestor being tamed by a Human? Outrageous. Who'd ever heard of such a thing? Not to say he was the Second too.

"Did you do any modification to it?" He asked worriedly. The smirk on her face caused him to regret even asking such a stupid question in the first place.

"Of course I did, grandfather." She began proudly, reciting data from the field research she conducted. "After all, the damage had yet to reach the level I want. Sure, I can be on par with those weaker Servants, but a Saber does have high Magic Resistance after all. Though I can still do minor damage to one. Hmm, and that man was capable of redirecting my beams even though he has poor Magic Resistance..."

"Oh?"

"You know, that Archer in red. Damn the guy..." She said grudgingly.

The young noble woman continued to grumble about how things should have went, but the old man merely smiled and shook his head in amusement.

* * *

Emiya Shirou poured out tea for his guests, who sat around his table, lost in thoughts. Saber sat beside him, and the other Servants were dematerialized, and Archer was on the roof, keeping an eye out for things. The Masters accepted the tea and downed the warm liquid to soothe their feelings and to warm themselves up.

Sakura, who sat next to him, looked blankly at her cup of tea, her sapphire eyes teary and red. The poor girl had been pressing her emotions down ever since the revelation was made, openly crying when the woman had left, but she stopped quite soon and followed them back silently, never uttering a word.

Saber, Shirou, and Luvia were worried about the girl. The supposed to be dead Tohsaka Rin had appeared in a Holy Grail War, with no Command Seals, but her sheer power was enough to knock even the Servants off their feet. Saber knew she had yet to show her true powers, and she was lucky that her Magic Resistance was higher compared to the others present in the war, thus avoiding critical injuries. However, if the woman truly went back to increase the conceptual weight of the weapon, no doubt her Magic Resistance would be a piece of paper compared to the inferno she could release.

"Is it really Rin?" Luvia was the first to break the silence. She rested an elbow on the table, supporting her head with it. "I mean, she doesn't give me the pig-headed, bossy, tomboyish and stingy Tohsaka I used to know."

"Time changes people," Saber replied flatly, her emerald orbs regarding the blonde's crimson ones. "Can you be sure that you had not changed over the years, Edelfelt-san? You did say it yourself earlier on about time and change."

The blonde thought about it and frowned. "Point."

"It's not nee-san..." Sakura said softly. All the rest of the Masters turned to look at her with a surprised expression, but none said anything. They waited for the brunette to continue. "I know because I hold the proof that serves an evidence to her death."

"Is that what you had always refused to let me know about?" Shirou asked, already knowing the answer.

She nodded and looked at Karma. "I'll tell you briefly what happened in the last war ten years ago. It was the fifth Grail War at that time, and me, my sister and Emiya -senpai were Masters in the war. In the previous war, I was a member of the Matou family, and I handed the command of my Servant to my brother, Shinji, like what my grandfather told me to. The war raged on, taking lives of the Servants. My brother lost my Servant fairly quick in the war, seeking sanctuary with the Church. But he was given a pact-less Servant to continue the fight. His new Servant betrayed him and used him as a vessel to summon the Holy Grail. My sister ended up dead in the end, taken into the depths of the Grail along with the Servant. My brother died a few years later due to the curse of All The World's Evil."

"But, why was she taken?" Karma asked, confuse etched on his features.

Shirou cleared his throat and decided to take over. "Western Magus are likely to think that the victory belongs to the final Master-Servant pair standing. That is certainly true to a certain extent, but the Grail has its own thoughts too. It deemed Tohsaka to be worthy of becoming its vessel, so it took her."

"Yeah right, Sherou. I'm surprised you could still say that with a straight face after what happened. She died protecting you, numbskull. Gilgamesh wanted to take you with him, but the bitch interfered , pulling you free. Out of rage, he dragged her with him, while you sat there like some scarecrow, not knowing what to do. Or am I wrong?" Luvia ended with a smirk.

The red head stood up in rage and clenched his fists in anger. If not for the control over his own feelings, he would've projected swords and fired them at the blonde. "What are you saying, Edelfelt-san? You know that's wrong, and yet you continued to believe it?"

"That's what people are saying in the Clock Tower, whether you like it or not. 'First rate Magus, head of the Tohsaka clan, Supervisor of Fuyuki, dead because of a third rate Magus.' Face it, Sherou, they're not going to believe you, no matter what you say."

"Senpai, please don't think too much." The brunette said to him.

He sat down again, refusing to make any eye contact with the blonde, but she just smiled and shrugged things off, as if it had never happened in the first place at all.

Sakura took out a yellowed envelope and placed the thing carefully on the table. "This was the last thing my sister sent to me. I have to make this clear. It wasn't sent before her demise, it was after. The truth is, the letter had been sealed with a special seal, one that activates only when the writer's life force disappears from the world. In other words, I wouldn't have received the letter if she's still alive."

"Consider this, cousin," Luvia said, wagging a finger at her. "That her life force had disappeared, and the said letter was on its way to you. Then somehow, the bitch was too stubborn to meet death and opened her eyes again. What would happen to the letter? Will it continue its journey to you? Or return to its starting point?"

The younger Magus blinked in surprise at the comment. _I've never thought of that. She_ _'s right, what would've happened if that was the case? Could nee-san... Could she... still be alive?_

"I believe the Edelfelt heiress has a point." Said an unfamiliar woman's voice.

They all turned to see Bazett Fraga McRemitz, Enforcer of the Association , who was dressed in her business attire as usual. A shower of blue at her side and the face of the cheeky Lancer was seen to materialize, his demonic red lance across a shoulder.

"Bazett-san..." Sakura called out, surprised to see her there.

"Good morning, Tohsaka, it's been a while since we last met." She greeted the younger girl , casually taking a seat beside Karma, who flinched at her presence. Lancer smirked, disappearing to join Archer on the roof. To push the guy's buttons, no doubt.

Shirou and Luvia nodded politely to the Enforcer, and the former quickly pouring out a cup of tea for his guest. Bazett accepted with a soft "thank you", and eyed her allies, as least for now, the first phase of the war. But in the next phase of the war, she would need to fight them at some point.

"Bazett-san, were you watching?" Asked the brunette.

She nodded in affirmation. "Indeed I was. Needless to say, I've come in search of alliance with my allies in the first phase of the war, as a Red Faction Master." She showed them the three Command Seal emblazoned on her right hand.

"So that's why that dick didn't inform us of your presence..." Mumbled Luvia, annoyed by the man.

"Indeed. I showed the man my Seals, and he let me passed." Bazett turned to face Sakura once more. "I'm also here for another purpose. If the woman really is Rin, what will you do?"

Silence. The girl stared at her tea, unwilling to meet their gaze. "I... I don't know. I mean, we don't even know how the mechanics on the seal works, so...so how could we be sure whether nee-san really is dead? Or alive?"

"Rin, when she sought my help, she was a desperate girl, to begin with. I was on my way back to London, to find a way to compensate for my missing appendage. As some of you know, Kotomine Kirei took off my hand, stole my Command Seals and forced Lancer to be his Servant. She found me, I didn't how, but she did. She begged me to bring a letter to Kaleidoscope, that was all she wanted. She never told me why, but the old vampire filled me in after he read the thing, with a reply to it, asking me to look for Matou Sakura and bring her back to London. I flew back to Fuyuki as soon as possible, after a quick treatment for my arm, but the War already reached its conclusion. Rin, she was no more, as what the survivors of the war said."

"And then you found me..." Sakura continued in a soft tone. "But, why all this ? I mean, if she wanted to save me from that place, she could easily put him under a Sealing Designation, right?"

"That's what I don't understand..."

Suddenly, Shirou clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. "Hey, it's been a long night, why don't you all get some rest before night comes rolling in again? This is going to be a long day after all..."

* * *

 **BTS:**

Caster : He sure is focused on his paper.

Rin : Who?

Caster : Even when I'm looking at him, he doesn't seem to care.

Rin : Who are you talking about?

Caster : That's the reason that makes me admire him.

Rin : Lancer?

Caster : Yeah, of course! Look at him, he's so focused...

Rin : Right...

Caster : He looks cool...

Rin : Cool?

Caster : To me, he is.

Rin : Alright... I'll leave you in your paradise. Bye...dream on.

Caster : He's cute. Hehehe...

* * *

 **A/N:**

That's it, the end of another chapter. First off, the usual thanks to my beta and publisher, SPR, and my BTS author, CMN. Thanks for your help and support all this time.

I finally got this out after a week long of torment. These teachers and their exams, they always ruin my day. It was a horrendous week where I died in every single subject. Anyway, now that things are over, I can finally start to write again. Sorry for the long wait. So, not much action in this chapter. I figure we need an interlude after things in the previous chapters, so that's why this chapter is more on the boring side. Don't worry, the next clash will begin soon, so no worries on that. I'll try to work things out as soon as possible, but author's block is still kicking, thus any suggestions are welcomed.

It's late, so I'm gonna cut things short. All in all, have a nice week and don't forget to review. Any suggestions, criticisms, and questions are welcomed.

\- **RIN TOHSAKA**


	7. Chapter 7

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

A/N : Happy Halloween, everyone! Well, SPR here ;P as our dearly beloved author was too lazy to give a few words. Anyway, I don't really have much to say but there's a few stuff I would like to add beforehand.

Next, thank you to all those who have followed, favourited this fic! Your support and love is very much appreciated by Rin and I. There's not enough words to describe how we feel, especially knowing that many are passionate for the Fate-verse. Well, enough from me. Enjoy!

Apologies to those who are following my other story "The Deadly Melody" as I have been sort of on hiatus for quite some time. (T^T) Please bear with me a little while longer!

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

The old vampire led the pouting Magus to a high-class French restaurant in the middle of the busy Shinto. She had objected on coming along, as she thought that whatever they were going to discuss, it would certainly bore her to death. Though the vampire did manage to persuade the said woman to follow him, with a promise to let her go sightseeing as soon as the lunch was over.

As usual, he was in his cape, with animal fur around the collar. Beneath it was an expensive set of tailored clothes, and in his hand was a seriously expensive walking stick with a ruby for ornamentation. Talk about taste, not even she wanted to know much much all that had cost. As old as he was, he was still very much influenced by the flow of the modern day. Those with wealth should just show it.

On the other hand, she was in her usual red dress, simple yet elegant, showing her curves nicely. The dress had a low neckline, showing off a little of the cleavage between her breasts, where a diamond pendant nestled. Her long, silky, luxurious dark hair was let down in its natural way, gently swaying in the wind. On one wrist was a gem bracelet, serving as both her jewelry and weapon, depending on what type of situation she was in. The other hand clutched an expensive looking purse. On her feet, a pair of ivory high heels finished it off.

The crowd just had to look at them. The pair of man and woman looked like some sort of noble wandering the streets, and actually, they might not even be that far off from it in the first place. Though the duo certainly had no idea what they had speculated, nor did they care anyway in the first place. They walked in the restaurant, and the waitress ushered them to a private box.

Lorelei Barthomeloi was already waiting for them, sipping on a glass of wine, and reading a book. She looked up when she heard the door open, and though she looked a bit annoyed at the sight of the old vampire, she was the one who requested the meeting in the first place, so she looked on neutrally as they took their seats opposite her.

The waitress took their order, and she took the chance to study the woman named Daphne. She had heard enough about her to know how strong she was, and how she had been the handful of apprentices who survived the old geezer's training. The old man was reputed for breaking his apprentices after all. She couldn't stop herself from admiring her strength, despite how she had hated the Undead so much, including the man she was currently sitting with.

 _An oriental no doubt, with her complexion, but such powers, to be wasted in a place like this..._

She had planned to take advantage of today's meeting. It was not just to discuss matters, she also wanted to know the woman. Who she was, where did she come from, how had she survived the training when thousands had failed. It was the main reason she had the Wizard Marshall to bring her along. Not that any of them was aware of her true intentions.

"Took you long enough." She began sternly. That was just how she was like, the cold Magus who led the Association, the vice director of the Clock Tower. She was of the Barthomeloi clan, and she held her family name in a position much higher than her given name, as shown in her preference of people addressing her as "Barthomeloi". And she was also known as The Queen : Supreme Mage of the Modern Era, as well as a Wizard Marshall. She was not given these titles for anything, her abilities in combat had already been demonstrated as to be able to hold her own fort while dealing with True Ancestors.

"My apologies, vice director. I have no intentions of being late. However, the child was reluctant to leave the comforts of the hotel, and considering her health, I'm actually against it when it comes to matters that require her to be outdoors." Zelretch replied with a smile, and the younger woman pouted at the remark but said nothing.

Lorelei didn't even twitch an eyebrow at what he said, turning her gaze to the younger woman. She didn't pull her eyes away. They stared at each other for some time before the older Magus broke eye contact, smiling contently. The woman had guts, she wouldn't easily back down even when she was being stared down at. And the way she carried herself, it was clear that her birth family had been a noble one as well, despite her Oriental origins.

"I have urgent matters to discuss with the both of you. One being the ongoing Holy Grail War, and the other being Daphne." She began. "There are several matters which requires information from you both."

"Wait! Did I hear wrong? Are you guys going to discuss me? When I'm here? Like I'm invisible or something? Like I'm sort of toy for your amusement?" She asked accusingly, turning to the old vampire. "What do you think I am huh, _grandfather_?" She pressed the last word mockingly.

"Daphne, let me explain..." He began, but she cut him off.

She stood up abruptly, her Mystic Code flashing dangerously. "Stop acting as if you're doing all this for my sake, Zelretch. I've had enough of all this shit. Being locked up in that place for years. I never went anywhere unless you or Arcueid was with me! Why all this protection?! Who are you trying to hide me from?! What are you planning actually? What do you want from all this? What do you gain from all this?"

"Let me explain..." He began to say again, but again he was cut off by the woman.

"Shut up and listen to me first!" She roared, scaring him, and Lorelei stared in shock at the woman.

 _Why is she so worked up for? Locked up? What the hell is she talking about? Could the old geezer had hidden something from me? And I must say, such outburst is disgraceful for someone with noble birth._

"Sleep..." Said the old man exasperatedly, his command laced with mana. The woman body swayed, her Mystic Code dimming, and finally, she fell into the arms of Zelretch, who placed her limp and unconscious body onto a chair, sitting back in his with another sigh.

"What is it that didn't you tell her about? And me?" The Magus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A lot..." He said, taking a sip from his wine. "And I don't intend to tell her anything anyway. Because she doesn't have the time. Why leaving in regret when she can leave, knowing it was one meaningful life she had lived?"

She frowned at his words. Sometimes, she just hated chatting with him. He was such an enigma that even the words he uttered sometimes made no sense to her. "I warned you, no riddles."

He laughed at her expression. "Sorry about that, got carried away by my emotions. But that's a story for another time. What do you want to know?"

"Who are you siding with in this war?" She asked her voice calm.

Zelretch raised an eyebrow, surprised that she would pose such a question at him. "Should you be asking me such a question? After all, we should be neutral in this War. I am not a Master after all."

"I'm asking about your granddaughter. She'll need to choose a side soon. Am I right?" She said with a smile. "I know she will be the one to decide how the war would end. It's her, who will summon the final slot, no?"

Zelretch shook his head in amusement. "I'm afraid you got things the wrong way, vice director. She has no Command Seals, and she had already voiced her stand in the matter. She refused to be caught in all this. Nonsense, she had said, though I don't know why."

"Do not insult my intelligence, Zelretch. Even as a fellow Wizard Marshall, I do not tolerate nonsense, and you of all people should know that." She paused, shooting a quick glance at Daphne."If the Grail is truly as omnipotent as the facts proclaimed, it's impossible that someone would not have any desires for it, correct? Even I seek its powers, though I hate to admit it."

He looked at her, as if unable to believe what she had just said to him. _Desires the Grail? Is she insane? Didn't she listen to what the Emiya boy said in his report? And yet, someone like her is so foolish as to not believe what the boy had said to them? Is she willingly putting the world at stake with her stupid actions?_

"You can't be serious, can you?" He asked her, fearing her answer. "Did you even pay any attention to what the Emiya boy had to say? Not to say you have a Lord under your command who surely knew what was happening in the one he was in."

She raised an eyebrow at the remark and glared at the old man. "Two witnesses are not enough to prove things. Besides, Velvet had things clear that nothing of the sort had happened when he joined the ritual. Even if things truly goes south, I will be more than enough to handle things, after all, I'm one of the strongest Magus after the five existing True Magician. And with you here, I doubt that things would be bad."

"You have no idea what the war truly is about, don't you? It was meant to be a ritual to reach the Roots, not to fulfill our selfish desires. The Third War changed everything, with the Einzbern summoning an anomaly. The Avenger. In other words, they summoned All The Evil In The World. Defeated Servants return to the Grail, and in that process, the Grail itself was corrupted. Do you truly wish to seek such a malevolent tool, vice director?"

She narrowed her eyes at his explanation. She had yet to fully comprehend and believe everything that he had said. He was known as an eccentric man after all. Not every word which he uttered could be believed, and she had no idea whether to believe him or not. For now, she decided to ignore the man.

"I will see the end of this so-called ritual of yours, then I shall decide whether the Grail really is like what you had said." That was the answer she decided to give him for now.

He sighed, taking a sip of the wine. "You're not here to ask me only that right? After all, the woman who is known for her hatred towards the Dead Apostles had just invited one of their strongest members to lunch. Quite a sight, no?"

She tried not to twitch her eyebrows at the comment. "Indeed. There are more than this. I wish to see how our Oriental practitioners are doing, and perhaps reward some of them with ranks and colors if they truly deserve it."

"It's the first time that I heard the Clock Tower is interested in Oriental Magus. I thought you people had always seen them as backwaters when compared to Western Magus. For centuries, you have always pushed them aside. Why are you changing your mind now? Especially now of all times?"

"Tohsaka Sakura."

"What?" He asked, blinking in confusion. A young Magus actually talked her out? It was unbelievable.

"I wanted to see, the proof of how a Magus who is willing to sacrifice everything for a sister who no longer carries the family name. I wanted to know how are things here, why are things so different when compared to what happens daily at the Imperial Capital."Lorelei stated flatly. "It's not an everyday phenomenon, and you had to admit that Magus are self-centered people. But these Tohsakas are not."

Zelretch chuckled at the explanation. "Hers is a special case. You can't be guaranteed to find everyone here to act in the same way. Rin may have been a Magus. She may have acted cold and heartless at times. She may have grown into what her father wanted her to be, but she never wanted such a life. That was why she was willing to give up everything , asking assistance from me and the Association. She was putting everything on the line to end everything, though she failed, even with her own sacrifice. ... Ah, I get it now. You're here to investigate her past, correct?"

She nodded. "You're right. But that's not all. I wanted to know everything about her. What had happened to her which changed her so much, and what made her contact her sister after eleven years of being separated."

"Very well, I shall tell you everything that I know."

* * *

Luvia woke up a few hours later, refreshed, though her body still ached from the battle she faced last night. She stretched her sore limbs and looked around her. She had fallen onto the bed and fell asleep in less than a few seconds after Shirou had directed her to the room.

It was quite spacious, and the futon she had been sleeping on was in the middle of the room. Tatami mats lined the Japanese style house, carrying a strong feel of a traditional samurai compound. The were windows on a side of the room, giving her a view of the garden.

She turned her attention to a corner of the room, and a shower of red shimmered before a man in red and black appeared. He opened his molten steel colored eyes and looked at her, emotionless. He was a completely different person when he had faced the woman. But now, he was back to the man she knew, cold and sarcastic, with that smug grin on his face.

 _Just who is he? Who was he? How did he know Rin?_

"Who are you?" She asked verbally.

He smirked mockingly. He knew she would question him sooner or later about it since he let emotions took over him when he saw the woman. But instead of the usual smirk he usually gave her, there was sadness in his gaze, and his smile was sad too. "Do you really want the answer to that question?" He asked back as if pleading her to drop the topic.

"Tell me. I'm sure I'll be able to cope with the truth." Luvia answered,gulping down the bitter taste in her mouth. She was ready to know, right? She was a Magus, and someone like her should be prepared for something like this, no matter how ugly things might get in the end.

He sighed, and sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall, crossing his arms. He tore his gaze away from her, staring at the ceiling. "You've always known me as a younger boy, only that you've never realized who, or rather what I would become in my future had I continued to walk down the same path as my father. Because I was a fool back then, I still am."

She bit her lips impatiently at his words, but she already had a guess of her own at his self-mocking words. She still refused to believe things, at least not until he had said it with his own mouth. "Stop the riddles. I'm getting tired of guessing. Just say it."

"Emiya Shirou." He replied with a blank expression.

Luvia gasped in surprise at the answer she had just received from her Servant. So her guess was right. Then, the dots suddenly connected as she realized the man having streaks of white in his hair, and his skin had gone darker in the past few years. It was all so clear now, the swords, their styles of fighting, they were too similar in most ways, though the Shirou she had known might not end up in the same way her Servant had.

 _That sweet boy who had always wanted to help others, putting everything else above himself, never thinking about the risks he was putting himself into... Reduced to this state? A mere tool of the world? A pet murderer of Alaya's? Doing the deed he had been avoiding his entire life? But now, he was trapped in the endless cycle, with no promise of freedom. He had to keep killing, answering the summons, and kill and kill, and kill, all to save the world he had vowed to protect._

 _He had to dirty his hands over and over again, killing those he had vowed to save. In life, he was unable to save people, and he was betrayed again and again, even in death. That must've been what broke the man to this extent._

"Archer...you..." She said in sympathy.

He closed his eyes, refusing to meet her gaze. "No need for more words, Master. I know what you would say. She told me the same thing when she knew my identity. Something about how big of a fool I was back then." He chuckled sadly. "I'm a broken man, Luvia. Any attempts to save me are futile. All I care now is her."

He told her about his life, how distorted he was. Never realizing his mistakes, he kept running forward, reaching out his hands towards a dream which would never come true. He wanted to save everyone, everything. But he never embraced the fact that he couldn't save everyone. That was why he kept training, he kept pushing himself to his limits, wanting more power to protect those he wanted to protect. That was his life, his world. Even after he married the woman he loved, he abandoned her shortly after a few years, putting his eyes on saving the world, never sending a word to his wife, never returning for even shorts visits. She had waited for him, all those years, alone, but still waited, never giving up hope. When he finally returned, he was sentenced to death.

"You're a fucking idiot, do you ever realize that?" Luvia grumbled.

He opened his eyes and chuckled. "You're not the first to say that."

"Oh? May I have the pleasure of knowing who was the first?" She asked, smirking in response.

"Someone you loved and hated at the same time. Your own less than, beloved cousin of course." He replied with his famous smirk.

She stood up and eyed him with a weird expression. "She was damn right about it. Now, off with the real topic, I wanted to ask you about, and you better answer me truthfully, or I'll use one of these on you." She showed him the three Command Seals emblazoned on her hand, smirking.

He rolled his eyes at her threat. _Damn, are these two twins or cousins? Why are their thoughts so similar in every way? ... ... At least when the matters concern me anyway._

"What do you want to know?" He asked in a resigned tone.

"Is she Rin? The woman we met last night."

He blinked at her question but regained his composure fairly quick. "I don't know. My pendant resonated with her, that should be proof enough that she's Rin. But... The way she carried herself, the way her power was being emanated, it scares me. The power she had demonstrated to us, I can say it wasn't all she had. I could feel it, the way her true powers bubbled under the surface. It felt too similar to the powers I had come across in my missions to save the world."

"Do you mean to say she's evil?"

Archer shook his head, his eyes scrunched in deep thoughts. "No... That's not it. It felt like her powers were composed of two different components, furiously clashing against one another. Yet, when she used it, it was as if she had no problem controlling it."

"Then what are you fearing?"

"I... I don't know. The way she is now if she really is Rin... I don't know whether to be happy or to follow my instincts... and... and..."

Luvia walked over to the man and crouched down before him. "And what?"

He gave her a look that made her regret asking him that in the first place. "... And kill her the next time we meet."

* * *

Shirou and Sakura walked down the busy streets of Shinto, with bags of groceries in hand, chatting. But none of them seemed to be paying much attention to what was happening around them. Saber was strolling behind them, with a dematerialized Rider besides Saber.

"Senpai, what will you do now?" Asked the younger among the two.

He was silent as if lost in his own train of thoughts. The younger girl nudged him in in the side, jerking the man back to reality. He regarded her with his brown eyes. But they seemed to be more silver in color now.

"Sorry." He apologized. "I spaced out for a while back there. You were asking?"

The younger Magus pulled her gaze away, staring at the ground, trudging along. "What I was trying to ask was, now that we know nee-san might be alive, what are our course of action for the war?"

He frowned at the question but quickly came up with an answer for her. "Nothing's changing here, Sakura. By what Luvia and I had seen, she had no Command Seals, so we will unlikely face her in this war. Besides, there are no more open slots now are there?"

"..."

"Sakura?" Shirou asked, concerned by her sudden silence.

She stopped in her tracks. "We don't know, senpai. And you shouldn't be asking me that question. It should be directed to the Overseer, right?"

"I suppose you're right." He replied sheepishly. "How about if we find some time to go and meet her? She's quite a nice lady, unlike her father who always gave me and Tohsaka the chills."

"Caren-san is his daughter?" She asked in surprise. The two had no family resemblance after all. So it was a surprise to all those who found out the truth.

Shirou had learned that she inherited most of her mother's characteristics and that her mother had died shortly after her birth. Her father had left her under her mother's relatives' care, so she took up their family name instead of his, and walked the path of God as well. He had never been a good father, as he rarely even cared for her wellbeing. She had arrived at the church a year after her father's death taking over her father's job as the priest of the church.

Although she was kind and caring, like how the followers of the lord should be, she loved to get onto others people's nerves too. So, if she knew which one was the right button to push, you'd never have a nice conversation with her. More likely you would end up fuming in rage and stomp out from the church, with the priestess smiling and waving after you, enjoying the sight.

"Yeah, she is. I know it might come as a bit of surprise, but they are related all right. Though I have to warn you to be careful too. She is nice and all, but she loves to push other's button too. So...be careful when you're speaking to her, and don't let things slip." He warned. "Even better, don't speak to her."

"I'll... I'll keep that in mind, senpai. But I don't think she's really that bad, right?" She asked half jokingly, receiving a soft chuckle as a reply. They preferred this kind of atmosphere compared to the tense one they shared in his living room earlier that day. "But, what if nee-san is really alive? And if she interferes like last night in the War, even not as a Master, would we need to defeat her at some point?"

"Hey, hey Sakura, don't say things like that, you're ruining the atmosphere here." He quickly said, trying to lift the conversation to a more pleasant topic. The silence of the two women following them only made things worse. It was as if they wanted nothing to do with their conversation.

"Look, Sakura. There'll always be a way to sort things out, so don't worry, alright? Besides, Tohsaka would never fight you. You're her sister, remember?" He said, trying to comfort the brunette.

She bit her lips. "But she attacked you and Luvia-san last night."

"That's probably some bad joke of hers. I'm sure the next time we meet, she'll be laughing her head off at how she had managed to fool the whole lot of us," Again, he was trying to come up with some lame excuse to console the poor girl. _She's afraid of the future, afraid that she might need to kill her own sister at some point. And it's not like I can blame her. Not after all she had gone through in her life._

"You're right, senpai..." She replied with a bright smile. Her emotions seemed to shift all of a sudden, and it worried the elder Magus. "Nee-san is probably laughing like crazy now, and then we can have a happy reunion the next time we meet. Come on, senpai, we better hurry up, or they'll whine about food."

He laughed at the statement. "Yeah, you're right. And Fuji-nee will probably chew me out if I'm late for dinner. ... Shit! I totally forgot about Fuji-nee! Come on Sakura, we need to hurry up, or they wouldn't know what to do with the Tiger of Fuyuki!" He cried out in panic, running down the streets.

Sakura blinked at her senpai's disappearing back before she responded. "Ah! Yes, senpai!" She smiled to herself, clutching her groceries and ran after the man.

Saber looked at the back of the two Magus, then turned her head to the setting sun. _The fate truly is cruel to the kids... I hope that after all this is over, they can lead a happy and peaceful life..._

* * *

 _Daphne's POV_

My head hurts. The throbbing at the temples refused to stop, no matter how much I wished it would. Damn, it felt like someone is trying to hammer their way through my head. I opened my eyes and was greeted by the sight of my room in the Fuyuki Hyatt. The sun seemed to have set, with the sky bathed in dark red. Soon, the darkness would embrace the world and another fight would surely break out.

I pulled myself off the bed. And moved towards the sofa, sitting down to catch my breath. Had I mentioned that my health had always been the tripping stone in my nearly perfect life? Right now, the weight was pulling me down, trying to drown me in unconsciousness. I fought back, though, not wanting to give up now of all times.

It was just another petty headache. I could pull the shit through things. Then the pain suddenly intensified at my thoughts. It was as if it was trying to take away my very determination. I clutched my aching head, letting out a pained groan, searching for the right potion on the low table for the pain. There were so many of them, each for a different purpose. I threw those which were deemed useless at the moment to the ground, frantically searching for the one which would alleviate the pain.

 _Damn, this headache is killing me... And I knew I should've cleared the table from time to time..._

The vials got swept to the floor as I lost my balance, collapsing onto the table with a thud, feeling the air being knocked out from my lungs, and the pain intensified. Soon, I was on the floor, gasping for breath as my body was again wracked by the pain I had felt occasionally over the years.

"Daphne!" Arcueid's worried voice sounded in my fading consciousness.

A pair of arms pulled me into an embrace. In my fading vision, I saw a pair of crimson eyes staring right back at me, the worry seen clearly in those orbs. She was shouting something, but I could no longer hear it.

The darkness...it was embracing me.

Arcueid shouted in worry for the Kaleidoscope, who came rushing into the room. He lifted the Magus from her arms and placed her onto the bed. Her breathing was still rasped, her body perspiring, beads of sweat over her body. Even her body temperature had risen a little. But that wasn't the vampire's concern at the moment.

"Grandfather?" The White Princess called. "Is there anything I could do to help?"

He nodded briskly without looking at her. "Get a basin of water and towel. And don't forget the special bandages I have in my workshop." He retrieved a vial from her table, pouring the content down her throat.

"Y... Yes!" She answered with a nod and ran off to gather the said items.

His eyes never leaving the suffering Magus, he began to run a quick examination of her current conditions. Judging from his appearance, it wasn't looking good at the moment. He could feel the powers in her, boiling and trying to push each other off the cliff. The power was trying to escape the container they were in, destroying the container in the process. It had never been so intense, that he could feel the clash between the power without a direct contact.

Daphne's body jerked, and he was filled with horror at the sight of the blood seeping through the corners of her mouth. Her eyes suddenly snapped open, unfocused, but it soon locked contact with the old man's crimson eyes. Her eyes glowed, sapphire, red, rainbow, it was an ever changing sight. But it wasn't a welcoming sight either.

She gasped for breath, searching for his hand. He quickly took her hand in his. The woman managed a smile through the pain, and the vampire returned the smile. There was no telling how much of pain she was in now, yet she refused to let things show.

 _Damn this stupid girl... It's okay to show your weakness at times..._

"Grandfather, it's alright..." She wheezed through the pain. "I... will not give up..."

He bit his lips. Even when he was called the Kaleidoscope, he had never seen the turn of events in this world. He often wondered whether he had made the right decision to stay in this parallel world for so long or the fact that he had saved her all those years ago.

"I know..." He said with his usual smirk. "You're my granddaughter after all, as well as the sister of the White Princess. It'd be a shame if you would die that easily, considering who and what we are."

She laughed. "... You're right... I'll be fine... I just... need some rest..." That was all she said before her eyes closed, and her breathing eased, the pain no longer washing over her, or she had simply passed out from the pain.

"At least she seemed to be calm now." He whispered to himself.

Arcueid returned to the room, with all that he had asked for. Putting the things down, she wet the towel and placed it on her sister's forehead.

"There won't be any need for the bandages for now. Let the child rest. I trust that you'll be more than capable of taking care of her?" He asked, leaving the room.

"Where are you going?" She asked, pulling a chair to the side of the bed and sat down.

He didn't stop or turn to answer her question. "I've got more research to conduct. Do not disturb me unless something like just now happened."

Arcuied watched as her grandfather figure closed the door behind him and turned her attention back to the sleeping girl.

 _She looked so peaceful now, hopefully things will stay the way it is..._

* * *

Caster watched silently at her Master, who had done nothing except playing video games and surfing the Internet for the past few days in resignation. Not to mention that she had an abundant supply of mana from him as well. He pretty much let her did whatever she wanted, never questioning what she had been doing. True to his word, he never cared about the ongoing war. He was deeply absorbed in beating the game he just asked the enchantress to buy.

"Come on, kick the jerk's ass!" He screamed at the screen, his fingers pushing the buttons like crazy on his game console, his tongue sticking out from a side of his mouth. "Come on, die already!"

Then apparently his character died, as the boy threw the console aside and glared at her, reaching for a packet of chips. "What do you want now? Going out again? And come to pester me with those stupid instructions again?"

She swore she would kill him there and then, but she always had a soft spot for children. Especially when Shinichi was dragged into the war in the first place. He had wanted nothing to do with it, but he was interested to know how things were going. So the Servant of the Spell would always give him a daily update, no matter what happened.

"Indeed, Master, I will be heading out soon. Remember what I told you about this ritual?" She asked politely.

The boy grumbled, but answered nonetheless. "Yeah, something about seven of your kind and seven of mine, pairing up and killing the rest off."

Caster nodded in satisfaction. Though he had wanted nothing to do with it, he had taken her lessons to heart. She had been teaching him a little magic once in a while after all. If he was happy she taught him magic, he never let things show. "You're right, Master. However, circumstances have changed. This war is different from what I had expected in the first place. I will need to gather more information on our current allies."

"But, I thought you said you need to kill the rest off..." He said, frowning. "Aren't you going to kill them now?"

"I will, in time. As I said, this war is different. It is an Apocrypha." She began to explain what are the difference between the wars and the boy listened with a weird face. When she concluded, Shinichi made a face trying to comprehend what she had said to him.

"So..." He stated, looking at his Servant. "In short, we have six pairs of allies at the moment, and this is the first phase of the war. And we are the Red Faction. We team up with the rest of our allies to wipe out the seven pairs of the Blue Faction. After they are eliminated, the remaining of the Red will turn against each other."

Caster nodded. "That's pretty much all." She had decided against telling him about Ruler for now. Poor boy might go into shock for knowing there was one person out there running around with eight legendary heroes. That was something to be worried about on another day. Right now, she needed to look out for her allies, and perhaps even form an alliance with one of them in the second phase of the war.

"Then Master, I shall take my leave for now. If anything arises, please do not hesitate to use the Command Seals."

"Right..." The boy replied, picking up his game console and restarted his game.

With another sigh, the Servant of the Spell disappeared into a shower of purple.

* * *

Ferdinand von Einzbern and his team of combat homunculi began their journey out from the Einzbern forest before the sun had even set. By the time they reached the city outskirts, the sky was already dark, with the moon bathing the city in its soft rays. He gestured with his hands, and the homunculi nodded before flanking out into the city into their assigned posts, and will silently move closer to their target should the need arise.

Luther and Bertram stayed with him, and the trio made their way to the northern end of Miyama Town. A Spell concealed them from sight, but the spell would break upon contact, hence they move carefully down the streets. Thankfully it was night, so the crowd wasn't as big as it was during the day. They moved on silently, without a word to each other.

Ferdinand, on the other hand, was communicating through the telepathic link with the rest of the troops, keeping alert on their situation, giving orders on detours. His attention on his troops was disturbed when he felt the sudden appearance of huge mana signatures at the other side of the town. It was followed by several bounded fields falling into place.

He cursed under his breath, reinforcing his body to maximum and sprinted towards his destination. Luther and Bertram were beside him in seconds, quickly picking up the pace.

"We need to be quick!" He said verbally, receiving nods from the two homunculi. _All troops, converge and head towards target! Fast!_

An echo of "Understood" broke out in his head, as all of them quickly doubled their speed by reinforcing themselves. Soon, homunculus emerged from alleys, crossroads, jumping down buildings to join the main force.

If not for the spell Ferdinand had cast earlier, people would be watching with hanging mouths at the group of albinos running at breakneck speed in elaborate robes with shiny armor and weapons down the street.

 _We might be cosplayers, who knows?_ Ferdinand thought to himself, nearing his destination.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Well, I ain't gonna say much (again) but don't fret everyone as Rin still have many tricks up her sleeves! Stay tuned and peace out~

We would like to especially thank **suzululu4moe** for your constant support and reviews, and many of you out there who have always faithfully review and follow this fic.

Here I am again taking the reins. Well, under direct orders of my high and might cousin, Rin after all. Anyway, thanks all for reading this fic and hoped you enjoyed it~

XOXO,

 **Luvia (SPR)**


	8. Chapter 8

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

* * *

 **A/N:** And yes, I'm finally back for my updates. Sorry about this late update, but final exam for my first term was more important, and I think I would have to resit them. They were some horrendous papers, and I hated them. Anyway, at this point I still have a Chemistry paper to get over with, but with the stress I'm having now, I need a way to vent it. Besides, I do owe you guys an update. To everyone who left me reviews, PM, favourite or follow my story, thank you so much for your support.

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Beowulf crouched at the crossroads,watching the Emiya in silence with the other Masters of the Blue Faction . Yvonne, Charlotte, and Francis were standing with him, on one side of the junction, while the two from the London Faction, whom he couldn't remember their names, were on the other side of the junction. Their leader seemed to be the woman with brown hair, and with the air of a true noble. Francis and the rest of his group were in such a shock when they saw her, but he paid no attention to her. Likewise, she paid no attention to them as well.

The woman with brown hair tied in a high ponytail was dressed in a white shirt with a huge red bow as a decoration, along with a pair of blood red trousers and high brown boots. From what he knew, she has special Blue Blood magic circuits and uses the wind element, as well as Mystic Eyes, though the attribute was unknown to them. And from what they could see, her main weapon at the moment was a holy mithril gauntlet.

The second was a man with long, dark loose hair. He wore a black shirt, and over it a black vest. A pair of black trousers and shoes completed the set. However, even at the end of the winter season, the air was quite chilly. He had a red coat on the outside and finished off with a yellow scarf, which was just hanging loosely around his neck. He saw no weapon of any sort on the man, but from what Francis had told him, the man had a Mystic Code made from mercury, Volumen Hydragyrum.

They had a third ally, but she was somewhere off, working in a way similar to what Yvonne would do, but the mercenary had yet to tell the rest of the Faction about her preference in firearms compared to magic. She was saving things for the second phase of the war. She didn't want people to know about her ace too soon, especially since there was already one on the team who worked in similar ways like her. The final Master refused to let them know her name, instead chose to keep it in the dark. Even when they held meetings, she always covered her face and muffled her voice.

"On the count of three, we charge," Beowulf commanded both verbally and telepathically to his Servant. The others should be doing the same thing. However, before he began the attack, he placed twenty bounded fields around the place, to prevent anyone from seeing or hearing any sound from the fight.

 _Damn the Red... Who would choose such a place as their base?_ He grumbled at the work he had to do to prevent the existence of magic to be known.

"One, two, three!" He counted, rushing out from his crouched position. The others followed suit, all except for the woman and man. He ignored them. As long as they didn't pull his leg, they could do whatever they wished to do.

Mordred, Vlad, Atalanta and Lancelot(Berserker) all materialized and charged into the compound. They broke through the bounded fields with ease, as they worked more as an alarm than a defense system, and Atalanta fired several arrows to draw the enemy's attention. It seemed to work, as projectiles landed down on the archer, who grunted as she jumped away, barely avoiding being hit. The projectiles connected with the ground, and exploded, blurring their vision, sending rocks and debris into the air. Archer stood on the roof, smirking as he nocked another arrow, and fired it at the Chaste Huntress.

A blur of red emerged from the smoke, and the invisible sword collided with Clarent. Father and son glared at each other, refusing to break sword contact. Arthuria brought her leg up, kicking Mordred away, who charged back without thinking twice with an incoherent roar. Saber parried the attack with ease, and twisted her sword, pommeling Mordred in the face. She grunted, stumbling backward. It was her mistake for discarding her helm, but she didn't want to hide her face any longer. There was no point after all.

"Look who's here, Arthur." She said mockingly rubbing her bleeding nose.

Her father turned, and saw a black knight, with a sword she knew too well, attacking Sasaki madly. His mad cries echoed across the grounds, and it hurt her, looking at him like this again. Sir Lancelot of the Round Table, reduced to a killing tool without any rationality in him. Mordred smirked, taking the chance to close the distance, and punching Arthuria in the face. The later quickly raised her sword to parry the attack, but the force sent her sliding across the ground.

Sasaki, on the other hand, was having a hard time dealing with the madman. Although he was a great swordsman when he was alive, being summoned into the Berserker class caused him to lose his sanity, and it was a shame. He would have wanted to fight the unknown hero at his full strength. He merely attacked relentlessly, and the samurai countered them perfectly, landing blows on Lancelot, and it seemed to make him angrier. Sasaki frowned, he had never fought a madman before, so it might be a challenge for him, but he was not going to give things up easily.

Lancer, with his usual toothy grin, had opted to fight against the enemy Lancer, Vlad. He pressed the vampire hard with each thrust he delivered, effectively pushing him back with sheer strength. As a fellow Lancer, Vlad seemed to lack the skills as a true spearman. In Chulainn's view, the long haired Servant was still toying with him, refusing to show the Son of Light his true powers. He hissed in anger, thrusting his spear at Vlad's head. With a smile, he twisted his body, and brought the lance up in an upward slash, landing a shallow cut on Chulainn's cheek. He grinned, and the deadly dance continued.

Medusa, although materialized, had choose to stay with the Masters, who had emerged from the house, full battle gear on. Her chains turned invisible, silently laying around the Masters, but it was ready to strike at any chance it had. A beam of energy blasted down on the Servant, who turned to a nearby lamp post after managing to deflect it.

Sat perched on the pole was a man with brown hair, and dressed in an archaic version of green robes. A book rested in one hand, and he smiled as several more beams showered on them. He seemed to be overconfident, as a shield with seven petals appeared, blocking the attack. Shirou charged at him, reinforcing his legs, leaping up to slash the man, who dissolved into mist before reappearing on another pole. The Magus grunted, again jumping after his prey.

Bazett had joined the fight, fending off the swordsman in the enemy faction. Beowulf grinned at the capabilities of his opponent, enjoying the fight to his heart's content. His sword connected with the gauntlet, ripples of energy spiraling outwards. Runes flashed on the Enforcer's limb, which landed a crushing blow to his side. He grunted, grinding his feet into the ground and sent mana through his sword, slashing it. A blade of fire emerged from the sword, and she quickly drew a rune to nullify the blow.

Sakura and Karma took their place behind Rider, serving as long range combatants and well as the support. Karma had his gloves on, the wraiths ready to attack with a flick of his finger, while Sakura had withdrawn several gems. The two had their gaze constantly sweeping over the place, not knowing when an enemy would strike. A mercury tentacle appeared from nowhere, and Karma pushed Sakura out of the way. The ground where they stood moments ago was torn into a giant crater. The two stared in disbelieve, but they had also known the identity of their assailant.

"It's Lord El-Melloi..." Karma whispered to her, who nodded in agreement. "I hate to say this, but we are going to die if we take him head on. None of us has the right Mystic Code to counter him..."

"Scalp!" Waver yelled, and more tentacles sliced through the air. Rider's chains took the blow, and the two quickly scrambled out of the way. He landed beside a blob of mercury and walked towards the lavender haired Servant.

 _After facing Gilgamesh of all people all those years ago, a Servant is nothing when compared to him. That man was simply horrifying._

"I'm your opponent." Medusa purred, her chains dancing around her.

Waver snorted. "Out of the way, Servant. Scalp!"

Again, the mercury reached out for the Servant, who stood ready to defend herself. But it changed direction at the last minute and tore through one of Karma's arm. The broken appendage dropped to the ground with a sickening thud, the boy letting out an agonized scream. Blood pooled around him, who had sunk to his knees in pain. Sakura pulled him away from harm, and Waver didn't seem to be interested in going after them, though he did notice the Command Seals on the hand he had just severed.

"YOU!" She hissed in anger. Her chains heeded her call, slashing out towards him.

A wall of mercury rose and blocked the chains with ease. But it wasn't able to block the sudden change in the force of the assailant. A gem pushed its way through the barrier and detonated in his face. Waver staggered backward, glaring at the Edelfelt head in distaste. She was cauterizing the boy's wounds, and soon she stood up, a gem flashing urgently in her hands. He didn't like the look of it a bit.

 _Where in hell's name is that Barthomeloi?_ He complained to no one in particular, stepping on the mercury, which elevated him onto the roof of the compound. He saw a blur moving through the courtyard, and blades of wind slicing through as well, Magus and Servants likewise hissing in pain from the cuts. Soon, the Queen joined him on the roof and watched in veiled amusement at the family heads on the ground.

Tohsaka Sakura, seventh head of House Tohsaka, Supervisor of Fuyuki. A gem magic practitioner. Though new in the field of gem magic, her strength wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Emiya Shirou, sixth head of House Emiya, a superior Magus in the field of Projection and Reinforcement. He was not someone to take lightly of, considering he was adopted by Emiya Kiritsugu, the infamous Magus Killer.

Bazett Fraga McRemitz, a member of House Fraga, which was known to possess an actual Noble Phantasm, the Fragarach. Also serving as an Enforcer for the Association, and one of their best hand-to-hand combatants. Even with only one arm, she was a fearsome opponent.

Luviagelita Edelfelt, current head of the Edelfelt clan. A family who had served as mercenaries for generations. They were even nicknamed the elegant hyenas, not that they cared anyway. Also a fellow practitioner in gem magic, a relative to the Tohsaka clan.

Nobunaga Karma, the descendant of the great Nobunaga Oda, the great strategist. Though his family was new in the field, and he was of the third generation, their Mystic Code, Hand of Einnashe was something to be feared off. It was said that the gloves were able to summon wraiths, which was why Waver had targeted him in the first place.

"An impressive collection we have here..." She said, her lips just curving up a little at the sight.

Beside her, Waver frowned at the sight. He hated the damn country, and he would have never returned to the backwater country if he could help it. But he knew his king would be mad at him if he let the chance slip. And thank the Roots he didn't.

"Is it really that impressive?" He retorted lamely, taking another long pull from his cigar. The mercury bounded upwards,landing beside him. "As far as I can see, they're just a bunch of novice. They may be the heads of their family, but they're inexperienced."

Lorelei eyed him dangerously, but the man didn't even flinch at it. "Oh, I thought you too were a novice when you joined this _ritual_ all those years ago. A complete novice who got his predecessor killed because he stole the lord's catalyst."

"I neither deny nor concede things, Lady Barthomeloi. However, do allow me to make one thing clear. Kayneth and I were both fools." He began, blowing smoke into the air. The noblewoman's gaze on him was ignored, as he let his mind wander to the past. "We were fools, eager to show off our abilities in this war, never once thinking that things wouldn't turn out the way we had originally planned. Instead, we stuck to our naive beliefs that this was just child's play..."

"Oh? Pray continue, your narrative is most interesting. And I believe your mercury will be more than enough to deal with them." She commented, launching another barrage of wind blades which were deflected by Medusa.

Waver snorted, knocking the ash off the end of his cigar before taking a pull. The mercury stretched out, razor blades slicing through the crowd, and cries of pain broke out. "Alexander the Great and Kayneth would never get along, this much I'm sure. The king wanted a Master who would ride into battle with him. Kayneth but a Magus, he put priority in secrecy. I know that secrecy is paramount in our world, however, that's his biggest mistake. In a war, no one cared about the pride of nobles. It was a fight to the death. And if you take just one wrong step, you'd die."

Lorelei arched an eyebrow at the statement. "Having a discussion with you is certainly much better than talking to those dogs at the Clock Tower, my lord."

He bowed, not flattered by her words. "Caster seemed to be giving the Emiya boy a hard time..."

"Oh, don't worry. I had the boy implanted with his adopted father's crest. He just refused to show his opponent his true power..." She said, smirking.

"W... What?!" He exclaimed, choking on his cigar, coughing a few times to regain his composure. "You what?! Why would you give such important crest to him?! His father was a Sealing Designate..." He ended exasperatedly.

She didn't even turn at his outburst. "No reason. I wanted to see how far he could push himself, the incarnation of a concept. ... And where's the rest? I thought they charged in before us?"

The man shrugged, moving his mercury to block off another barrage of arrows.

* * *

The exchange of arrows continued, with Atalanta firing arrows of the same version while Archer had an entire stock of different arrows in his memory. He slowly moved away from the compound. The angered huntress of Artemis jumped after him, savagely firing arrows at the red bowman, shouting something in the old tongue, which unfortunately he didn't understand a word. Not that he would pay any heed to it anyway.

"Caladbolg!" He called, a spiral sword appearing in his hand, the shape morphing into a spiraled arrow. He nocked it, took aim and fired.

The arrow soared through the sky, a trail of mana behind it, twisting even space itself. It cut through the air, going straight towards the bow woman, whose eyes widened in surprise before hastily firing an arrow. Caladbolg cut through it with ease, like a hot knife on butter. She fired more arrows, but they all suffered the same fate. She backed away, but the arrow caught her before she could retreat, exploding upon impact. Atalanta emerged from the smoke, snarling and firing arrows at Archer.

"Not so easy, Chaste Huntress..." He said to himself, smirking. The bow disappeared, replaced by the twin swords which he loved. Kanshou and Bakuya collided with the projectiles, metal sparks flying off the surfaces. Ha had to replace the swords again and again, as each broke after taking on several arrows.

Soon, the rain of arrows died down, and both Servants surveyed the damages they had caused. In the explosion earlier, Caladbolg had taken a quarter of the bridge down. The arrows from Atalanta gouged holes on the road, smoke filled the area. He groaned at the sight.

 _If this happened at the brat's house, Fuji-nee would kill him... Or he would be killed since the rest are still there._

"So, want to continue?" He asked, smirking.

She snarled, that was answer enough. He dashed forward, the swords altering shapes as well, they grew longer, bigger, with feather-like constructs on them. He slashed it down at her, missing her by a hair's breadth. The metal beams broke in half, falling into Mion River beneath them. Another slash, and again a beam was torn. He growled in frustration, angered by his incompetence.

"Damn it, stay where you are, huntress!" He growled, dashing towards her at his maximum speed. However, in terms of agility, he was ranks below her. There was no way to match her in speed, that's why he needed to rely on other tactics.

 _I'm not just an archer, lady..._

He grinned, as swords appeared behind him, just like how the Gate of Babylon works. However, there was no golden portal in his version, just projected swords and him. The swords continued to increase in number until it easily reached one hundred. Among the weaponry he had called upon, there were spears, katana, halberds, any form of sharp pointed objects, including axes.

Atalanta stared in horror at the image before her, her hands shaking, unable to hold her bow steady or nock an arrow. It was too terrifying for the huntress. She had never seen an archer with the abilities both as a swordsman, Magus, and bowman at the same time. He was no ordinary Servant, no ordinary Heroic Spirit, and he had demonstrated his powers quite well the last time he pulled them into his reality marble.

"What are thy?!" She demanded angrily, not showing her fear towards the man.

He grinned, the swords in hand disappearing. "I don't think this is the right time to ask such things now, is it?" he replied nonchalantly.

She hissed in anger, screaming. " **Answer me!"**

He smiled. "Oh, just a spell caster. Nothing more. Or you prefer me answering 'A Hero Of Justice'?"

She snarled at him, baring her canine, before energy began to assemble in her bow. The mana concentrated was so intense the faker just had to smile.

* * *

Arthuria and Mordred had moved their battle away from the house, continuing their duel at the foreign cemetery, where Arthuria and Hercules had their first duel. In a way, she felt sorry for disturbing the dead in their eternal slumber, but fighting at the samurai compound was a bad option, especially when both Sabers were adept in using mana burst. And the damage caused would be too great.

She parried a slash by Mordred, twisting her body to avoid a punch, and slamming a fist into her son's gauntlet. The younger blonde grunted, and backed away, eyeing her with an annoyed expression. Arthuria rushed forward with mana burst, closing the distance in seconds, her sword aimed for her enemy's head. Mordred brought her sword up to defend herself, but the force sent her sliding back. She grounded her feet against the ground, slowing down into a halt.

Excalibur came dancing, slash after slash, with Clarent taking every slash, parrying them precisely. Mordred could feel the anger boiling up in her at her father's blank expression. It was a fight to the death. It was a fight against her own blood, her own kin, yet she could feel nothing from it. The younger swordsman brought her sword up, cutting through her father's breastplate, blood spraying out.

The knight in blue stumbled, and held her stance. She didn't even show the pain she had got to be suffering from her injury, and it made the rebel angrier. She ran forward, the wind covering her sword, making the edge sharper. The wind answered her call, and surrounded the knight, pushing her forward with a boost. The sword again cut through Arthuria's armor, slicing through her side. More blood joined the first, but the knight in blue grunted and launched a counter attack.

She moved towards her son at breakneck speed, Excalibur raised for another strike. Clarent came up to meet the sword, but she twisted the sword at the final moment, again smashing the pommel into her face. Mordred dropped to the ground with a cry, one hand covering her severed eye. Her father had made it clear that she would show no mercy, and she had just lost half of her sight. Excalibur came down again, the blade being driven into her shoulder.

She screamed out in pain. "Why?! Why not...just finish me off?"

Arthuria regarded her son with her emerald orbs. "I wanted to know."

"What would you possibly want to know from a traitor like me?!" She spat blood in her father's face.

As an answer to her actions, she twisted the sword in hand, and the rebel hissed in pain.

"Why did you break your oath as a knight?" She asked calmly.

That angered the young blonde. Using all the energy she had, she kicked her father off her, who pulled Excalibur out as she went, blood fountaining from her ruined shoulder. She held Clarent in one hand. Without the aid of the other hand, she couldn't rely on her Noble Phantasm to wake up the stupid king, who was also her father. It was the strength in swordsmanship which would decide the outcome tonight.

"I don't have to answer to you. You are not my king!"

Spitting blood at her feet, she waited for Arthuria to make the move. She took the bait, rushing forward, summoning the air to cover her sword, hoping the invisibility could throw her off guard. She growled at the sight of her father who chose to use such low tricks and kicked the ground, launching herself forward.

 _The secret to winning is the courage to gamble..._

She mumbled to herself, twisting in the air to avoid being skewered alive, her sword raised for another blow. Arthuria was too late to realized what was going on, her eyes widening in shock as Mordred passed her.

Then, blood sprayed everywhere as both of them collapsed to the ground.

* * *

The Hound of Chulainn grinned in satisfaction as he made thrust after thrust at the white-haired spearman. He had to admit, the man was good, though in his opinion the guy was better off in the Caster class. That mist of his caused him to constantly miss when he thought he had impaled the guy with his spear. He somersaulted backward, landing in a crouch, the tip of his lance on the ground.

"Hey, phantom, who are you?"

Vlad made no reply, as the mist around him intensify, blocking their sight before appearing behind his enemy, jabbing the spear at Chulainn's head. The hound smirked, dodging it, the spear sailing across his head before grabbing Vlad's arm, twirled the man and slammed him into the compound. Vlad's form went crashing into the dojo, breaking half of the wall, and some of the planks.

 _Shit, the brat's gonna get a fright, seeing his house like this. Well, ain't my fault since they decided to attack the place._

He shrugged the thought off, focusing his mind on the fight. He watched as the pale man rose from the rubble unsteadily, and immediately rocketed himself forward, his spear longing for his opponent's heart. However, at the final moment, the man disappeared, then reappeared on the roof. He looked up at Vlad, and launched himself up, landing a little distance away from him.

"Hey, nice move. Wanna tell me what's it about?" He didn't answer. Chulainn frowned at the silence. "You aren't a talkative guy, are you?"

Again, no answer was given to him. Losing patience, he bounded forward, his demonic red lance clashing with the spear the vampire held. He brought his face closer to the other male, and the scent of iron filled his nostrils. He growled, and kicked Vlad away, pointing the spear at him

"You stink of blood." He spat it out.

Vlad actually chuckled at the remark. "You have a sharp nose for things. Of course, I smell like blood. It's what keeps me alive after all. Blood is the essence of life, don't you agree?" He asked instead, enjoying the look of shock on the other man's face.

"Yeah, maybe..." He replied sarcastically, rocketing forward and slashing his spear out at the man. The mist shifted, and Vlad disappeared. Out of instinct, he swung the spear behind him in a wide arc and felt the tip cutting in flesh drawing blood. It was further confirmed with a hiss of pain.

Chulainn smirked in joy, finally able to land a blow on him. Vlad glared at him with his blood red eyes, before taking the lead to launch a fresh attack against him. The demigod was enjoying every moment of things, as he rarely had the chance to fight until his heart's content, especially after he was forced to summon that stupid excuse of a priest.

Vlad's spear drew a thin line across his cheek, drawing blood. He only grinned more, as the fight intensified, trading blows after blows, each one of them matching the power of their opponent. He pressed down hard on the spear, and jumped into the air, delivering a kick to the other's face, causing the latter to stagger. He quickly continued his blows, thrusting his spear forward, but Vlad deflected the blow with a sweep from his spear.

The vampire growled, disappearing and appearing once more, slashing at the blue-haired man's back in rage. Chulainn countered them calmly, and elbowed him in the face, angering him even more. Another upwards slash and the elegant robe on Vlad was being sliced through. He jumped back to survey his own work, happy with what he had done.

He had yet to unleash the spear's full potential, but he was sure he could defeat the arrogant bastard with pure skills, plus a trick or two up his sleeves.

"Vampire, ready for more?" He challenged, grinning.

Vlad's vein throbbed in rage. _How dare of him to mock me so?! I shall make him pay for such insolence!_

* * *

The Servant of Insanity continued to slash his sword against the samurai recklessly. The said samurai grunted as the force of the sword caused him to kneel onto the ground. Lancelot roared in madness, his sharp teeth sending shudders down the samurai's spine. His helm had been taken off by a slash from the samurai, who recoiled in shock at the sheer madness on the black knight's face.

He had come after him, slash after slash, none stop, and that annoyed the samurai to no end. The knight gave him no chance to show off his secret technique, not that he would acknowledge the blow anyway, at least not in the current mental state he was in. He grunted, and tried to push as much distance as he could from the madman to unleash his technique, but he just rushed at him the moment he tried to jump away.

Sasaki was now regretting his brash decision of intercepting the black knight. Though the knight's identity was still an unknown, he had at least known that he held a certain grudge against the blue knight, whom he had yet to know her identity as well. Upon his arrival, the black knight's aura had intensified at the sight of the knight, and he quickly intercepted as Red Saber was already engaged with the enemy Saber.

Besides, he was a swordsman, and therefore he stood no chance against the Rider, Caster and Assassin class. Especially if the enemy Assassin is one who is exactly like the description of the class. He would have a headache just to figure where his next strike would land, and he knew he was definitely not the type of person to fight such a duel.

So, he focused on the madman before him, however, reluctant he felt, this was the man he had to fight now. He needed to win, to prove that his Master was right in summoning him to fight alongside him. That Nobunaga Karma was indeed the descendant of the famous Nobunaga Oda. The thought raised his spirit to fight.

With a howl, he pushed the black knight back, the giant stumbling backward. He furiously landed blows on the man, damaging his armor, drawing blood. He had to defeat the man, even if he was denied the access to his secret technique. He was a man without a true identity of his own, shaped from people's impression of Sasaki Kojirou. That wasn't even is true name, that was why he was so deprived of the pride a knight and samurai should have.

Yet, he was proud of the way he was now. At least his Master gave him the chance to fight to his heart's content. At least, he would be able to show his Master the true extent of his skills as a swordsman. He smiled, bringing his nameless sword down against Arondight. The black knight pushed back with all his might, but Sasaki was stronger now, with his new found determination.

He pushed the knight down and kicked the knight again. Lancelot roared, Arondight's blade raised to parry the next blow. He may have lost his insanity, but the swordsmanship was etched into his bones, hence there was no way he could forget everything. He was a knight at heart, no matter what were the sins he might have committed in his past.

 _Why Lancelot? A knight as noble as you... Why would you give in to darkness?_

 _I don't blame you... I never did... I just wanted the both of you to be happy..._

Vaguely, in his mad mind, he remembered what his king had told him in the last war. He shouldn't have those memories, but... somehow he remembered, and the words were like a torch in his mind, shining through the madness, pushing the insanity aside, and brought the noble knight back towards the surface.

"I fight... I fight for the sake of my king!" He declared, Arondight answering his call, unleashing its true powers. "All those who stands in the way of my king must die!"

Sasaki was shocked by his sudden change. Looking into his eyes, he found no madness in the man's eyes. It was clear, the determination to defeat him was clear. The knight had overcome the Mad Enhancement, yet his powers only seem to rise instead of dropping.

 _What happened? How is he stronger than before even when Mad Enhancement has been shut off? Moreover, who's the king he wanted to serve?_

He winced in pain as the blade sliced through his left arm, the blood soaking his samurai attire in crimson. Lancelot pressed forward, landing slash after slash onto the Japanese swordsman, not giving him a chance to take a breath. Sasaki twisted his sword, jabbing at the knight's face, but he deflected it with an arm, the blade sliding down the length of his arm before he agilely ducked under the blade, using the momentum to back away.

Sasaki was the one who pressed forward this time, katana raised to meet Arondight. However, a sudden change in the link with his Master caused him to halt in his steps.

"Master!" He called, turning to where Karma was.

Lancelot didn't let the chance slip, thrusting his sword into the samurai's chest. Sasaki turned to face him, remorse in his eyes, as he watched the blood pooling beneath his feet, and coating the knight's blade.

"I did not wish for our duel to end like this..." Lancelot said to him, pulling the sword out, and more blood fountained to join the ones already spilled.

He chuckled in amusement. "I know. It was a good fight, knight. If only you were sober the whole time, I would've truly enjoyed it."

"I regret not being able to fight you at my fullest. May we trade blades again. You are a great swordsman. It was an honor."

"Ah...likewise..." Sasaki said with a soft smile before disappearing into mana, his soul returning to the Grail.

Lancelot felt the madness returning, and quickly went in search of the two swordsman fighting to their death, before he lost rationality again.

* * *

Shirou had to admit, even when he was a Magus himself , the Blue Caster was not an easy opponent. The gentleman kept leaving openings to him as if giving him the chance to strike, but he had never taken the bait. With Shakespeare constant retreat, their battlefield had been shifted to the riverbank, where Shirou thought he had the advantage of projecting more swords to counter the beams the Servant of the Spell had up his sleeves.

"Trace on!" He murmured, and swords appeared over his head, rotating, ready to fire at his next command. "Target set. Continuous fire."

With the command, the swords launched themselves at Shakespeare, who read something from his book, and a shield appeared before the man, effectively blocking the blow. He didn't expect a man and girl to appear, and flying towards him at a tremendous speed. Swords impaled them but easily penetrated the phantoms. Shirou's eyes widened in shock before jumping away.

"The hell!" He exclaimed in anger, as he realized that his swords wouldn't work against him.

Shakespeare made a gesture, and his smile brightened up. "I'm a playwright who loves his work, hence, they love me back as well, and they are willing to do anything for me~"

Shirou frowned. _This is bad. A spell caster against a full-fledged Magus. To make things worst, as long as the guy has imagination, he's likely to produce more puppets..._

The Heroic Spirit gestured again, and the couple rose from the ground, hovering beside him. The man had short, curly brown hair, with sea blue eyes and a fair complexion. Dressed in a similar archaic fashion like Caster, only that his frocks were blue instead of green, and a pair of brown high boots. The lady had long straight, blond hair tied into a long braid. She was dressed in a red dress trimmed with laces, white long gloves up to her elbows. She held a purse in hand, and on her delicate feet was a pair of high heels.

Shirou had no ideas who those two were, neither did he recognize the clothes belonged to which era. He sucked in history and hated the subject. Well, if the subject of history is connected with swords, then that's another story. He had such a high affinity for swords, not to mention his Origin was the sword as well. It was simply impossible for the guy to ignore swords.

He ran a quick analysis on the two, and as well as on Shakespeare. Though his main expertise was still in swords, he could perform structural analysis on other things as well. He could be called a prodigy in the field and could receive a Noble Colour if he had joined the Association all those years ago.

 _Fabrics of the highest quality made from silk... That's all I could say about the fabrics. Not much information, as they are created on the spot, and Caster's just a copy of his true self._

 _The two figures, made from mana, and their properties... wraiths of a sort, then I know the best way to send them along their way..._

 _But, his book seemed to be quite old... Add on a famous playwright, and the material seemed to be of the English style, could he be?_

Shirou projected his swords once more, aiming them at the two apparitions. This time, the sword of his choice was a holy one, meant to exorcise wraiths and the lot, as long as they rank C and below. He believed that whatever those were, he could clear them off with those swords.

The couple hovered there, not even bothering to move or dodge the blow. For one moment, it seemed to penetrate them again. But the swords halted in their pathways, and rotated furiously, spinning the wraiths around them. They let out an inhuman howl, their features twisting into that of a monster, their screams echoing across the river before fading away. The swords exploded, freeing the mana into the space to be recycled.

Shirou smirked at his small victory, while Shakespeare seemed at a lost on what to do. His gentlemanly composure gave way to a father who had lost his children, his lips pressed into a thin line as he pointed an accusing finger at Shirou.

"You!" He said with a loud voice. "How could a gentleman like you do this to my children? They are one of my best works. How could you just throw them into limbo?"

"Oh?" He asked, smiling. "You're the first to call me a gentleman, Shakespeare. However, I have no pride in that. I'm just a Faker. Enough talk, let's end this, shall we?"

More swords appeared above him, and they all suited one purpose. To eradicate the apparitions Shakespeare would summon.

The Playwright snarled in anger, and call forth more of his works, and the exorcism continued.

* * *

Even with Luvia joining them, the Red Faction was still at a disadvantage due to the defeat of Assassin. Furthermore, Karma's Mystic Code could only provide half of the power it could unleash before, as he had lost one hand, the one with the Command Seals. However, instead of running away, he continued to fight alongside the Red Faction.

Luvia and Sakura joined forces, and together, their gems magic was quite effective in shield formation, though it was useless after a while as they found out that the wind blades and mercury used by the two nobles could change trajectory. So they focused the gems on offense, and it was another waste in a way. And they had to keep dodging the mercury, or they would be sliced in half any moment they let their guard down.

Lord El-Melloi II always had mercury besides him, acting as an automatic defense system. It was frustrating to see their efforts going down in vain, as the gems were expensive, and it took a long time to fill each individual gem up to its full capacity. Not to mention The Queen, who just threw wind blades at them whenever she felt like it and ignored them most of the time.

Rider was unable to land any blows on them as well and received a few cuts from the wind element magic launched by Lorelei. That didn't pose any problem to the Heroic Spirit, as she continued to dance around them with her chains up in a defensive sphere. She was fairly confident that at least her Master wouldn't be hurt in the process, and that was all it mattered to her.

Karma had tried to maneuver past the defensive walls of Volumen Hydragyrum, but the conceptual weight of his Mystic Code paled in comparison to the Lord's, and he was still looking for an opening. Even when he targeted Lorelei, the shield moved to protect her as well. The pain at his left stump constantly reminded him of his failure, and he knew he couldn't fail again. Not after his Servant had fought so valiantly against a madman. He had to at least survive through this. If not for his own sake, then at least for his Servant who had served him well.

"This is simply boring." Remarked the Queen in a monotone.

Waver had to smile. Indeed, even he had not thought that the younger Magus was so weak, as to be unable to stand against them in a one-to-one fight. Not that he could blame them anyway. Volumen Hydragyrum was an impenetrable fortress in away.

"Do forgive them. In terms of experience, they are certainly lacking. Unlike Fraga. She kept up a good fight with Rozenwalt." She commented, watching the Enforcer fighting with her fists and legs against a sword-wielding opponent. Then she realized that the Enforcer had a missing hand as well. "What happen to Fraga?"

"Oh, the priest took it off in the previous war." He replied nonchalantly, pulling at his cigar. "But I doubt it affected her abilities. From what I heard, she artificially replaced the missing appendage, enhancing it with Runes."

A gem shattered as the mercury moved to intercept it, and the Edelfelt head jumped up with a reinforced fist, smashing it against the wall. The mercury quickly adapted to the additional force, and the bones in her hand fractured. The Magus bit back a scream, landing beside the brunette with a somersaulted, applying a swift healing spell to the hand.

Medusa's chain crashed down on them, and the mercury took the form of a sphere, effectively reducing the force applied, spreading it out evenly and moving back to default position once the chains broke contact. The lavender haired woman threw a dagger at them, causing a diversion while Sakura sneaked up from the back, five gems ready in hand, already halfway through her chant when the wind was knocked out from her lungs, and she fell heavily onto the ground, coughing up blood.

"Tohsaka!" Karma yelled, worry in his voice. The momentary diversion was enough, as Lorelei directed another barrage of wind blades towards him. He was saved by Luvia's gems, which managed to delay the wind blades down enough for her to push him out of the way.

"Watch it, brat..." She hissed, reinforcing herself and bounded to Sakura's side, helping the girl up.

Sakura took in a few deep breaths before talking to Luvia. "We're at a disadvantage. Senpai and Bazett-san are engaged with the enemy faction. And our Faction has yet to be complete. The enemy Assassin has yet to show, and we're lacking Caster and Berserker, not to mention our Assassin has fallen."

Though reluctant, the blonde had to agree with her cousin on the matter. Not only were they out numbered, but they had one Servant less than the enemy. She gritted her teeth, trying to think of a way to get out of the situation. She directed her gaze to Bazett, who managed to hold her own fort with only one hand, and her opponent was a swordsman. It was an amazing feat itself, as the Magus continued to watch in awe.

* * *

Beowulf smiled in glee at being able to fight such a strong opponent. It was rare for them to fight Enforcers, as they were so little in numbers, and their skills were usually utilized to fight Sealing Designates or Dead Apostles. On the other hand, Bazett's expression was that of a neutral one, showing not even a hint of emotion, or the sheer fun at having such a strong opponent like him to fight.

Bazett brought up a fist to his face, which he quickly parried with the surface of his sword, and twisted the weapon, jabbing at her face. She jumped away, landing in a crouch and stuck out a leg to bring the noble down his feet. Beowulf responded by bringing his sword in a downward slash, causing the woman to quickly pull back her leg, swearing.

"You're quite good, boy." She complimented the Magus, whose eyebrows twitched at being called a boy.

"You're not bad too yourself..." He returned the compliment dismissively and catching out of the corner of his eye where Charlotte and Francis snuck into the compound, while Yvonne cloaked her presence and disappeared off somewhere. He had no interest in the other two. To him, they were just chess pieces, even if they did hold prominent power over the world of Magus.

The two traded blows again, gauntlet meeting the sword, both being pushed back as the force from the mana released into the air. A fist swung down on him, and connected with his arm, causing him to lose his grip on the sword, fighting bare-handed. He growled at the smirking Enforcer, reinforcing his limbs to meet her attack. Another kick to his chest sent the male tumbling onto the ground, groaning in pain as he attempted to stand.

"Not so good now, huh? Without your weapons, you're nothing but a bug waiting to be crushed." She sighed, eyeing the writhing Magus. "I'm disappointed. Even Oriental Magus had realized the importance of martial arts. Not just wielding a sword would get you everywhere."

He spat at her feet, blood seeping through his tight lips. "Damn you, Enforcer! You're just a hired help. Someone who kills for the sake of money!"

Bazett didn't even blink as she kicked the man off the ground, landing in a pile of rubbles. Bones could be heard cracking, even with Reinforcement, she could swear she fractured at least five of his ribs. She jumped after him, picking him up by the collar, headbutting the boy and released her grip, punching him in the stomach until blood spewed from his mouth.

"Say that again, and I swear I would end your life!" She stated calmly as she watched Beowulf struggling to remain conscious.

He pushed himself up onto his elbows and gaped at the sight of the rune covered gauntlets of the Enforcer. _No way, a Fraga? I underestimated our enemy. But, this is not the end..._

He reached out a hand towards his dropped sword, and the weapon launched itself back to him, lacerating one of her arms, and she cried out in pain, twirled to avoid further damage. Clutching her bleeding arm, she gasped as the Magus stood up, his wounds starting to heal. Then she noticed it. The sword had the ability to draw mana from the surroundings, and directing them into the circuits of the Magus' body.

"Don't underestimate me, Fraga. This is not the end. It never will be." He told the woman with a smile. "I'm the heir to the Rozenwalt family, and I will not let myself be dishonored do. Be prepared to meet your death!"

"Bring it on, boy." She replied with a challenging tone, as her arms and legs were covered in runes.

* * *

Blasts of magical energy rained down on the samurai compound, targeting everything except for those of the Red Faction. A shield had formed around them, preventing them from getting hurt from the massive explosion. Servants emerged from the smoke, singed but otherwise unharmed. Beowulf struggled to his leg, using his sword as a crutch and moved towards the mercury sphere which by now had landed on the ground as the explosion blasted the roof they were on, hoping that the Red Caster wouldn't blast him if he stood there.

The ones who were present looked up into the sky and saw Caster of Red, hovering in the sky, her cloak rippling around her like butterfly wings, and colorful sigils were all over it. In one hand, she held a staff. A hood covered her face, and thus nobody knew how she looked like. Her lips curled up into a soft smile as she looked at the damage she'd done upon her arrival.

"Geez, so I'm not the last one after all, huh?"

As if on cue, a team of homunculi rushed through the barrier without breaking a sweat, joining the Red Masters to counter the attack launched by the Blue Masters. All of them had yet to recover from their shock, but it seemed Red had the advantages in numbers.

"Troops, diverge, counter enemy!" Bellowed a loud voice across the compound. Ferdinand von Einzbern rushed in with Luther and Bertram beside him and nodded at the two gem practitioners before the homunculi grouped the Masters together and form a ring around them.

A loud insane roar reverbrated across the battlefield, as a massive man with a stone slab in hand joined the battle.

* * *

 **Behind the scene at Clock Tower (AU)...**

A certain vampire and his hot-headed apprentice were called by the Queen for a private conversation in her private office. Miraculously, Kischua decided to show up on the right time this time. Tohsaka Rin looked a little unnerved, but the old vampire merely smiled at the sight. Before he could open the door, voices from inside stopped them.

"Yes, yeah! Right there! Oh, that feels so nice..." Came Lorelei's muffled voice.

Rin blushed, choking on air, while Zelretch shook his head and blinked.

"Err..." Rin mumbled, groping for words.

He shrugged. "The boy is all yours..."

That said, the younger Magus tore the door off its hinges, and stepped into the room. She almost chokes to death at the sight before her.

Emiya Shirou, almost naked save for his boxers, straddling on Lorelei's back, the woman's gown pulled down to bare her shoulders and back.

"EMIYA SHIROU! WHAT THE HELL YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

"Wait!" The boy exclaimed, jumping off the sofa he was on, and pulling on his jeans. "It's not what you think..."

Lorelei pulled the fabric over her shoulders and fastened the sash around her waist, her cheeks tainted pink. Dreamily, she said. "Woah, that was good, even for an Oriental and minor like you..."

That seemed to cause the younger woman to get angrier. She stomped into the room, pulling the said boy from the room by his ear, "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"Aw... Tohsaka, let go, I can walk by myself..."

Zelretch watched from the door with a grin. "Did you really?" He asked the Queen.

"What? Of course no. I was requesting for a massage. Besides, I wanted to know how toned he is, so..."

"You stripped him." He finished as a matter of fact.

She shrugged. "Let's get down to business."

That day, Clock Tower experienced an earthquake that they would never forget.

 **By : Tohsaka Rin and SPR  
**

* * *

 **P/N** ( **SPR):**

Hello there, humans! ~(*w*)~ Once again, thank you for reading, reviewing and loving this fic. It's great to know my dear cousin's work is being appreciated. All of your inputs, ideas and thoughts on this fic are very much appreciated. I am enthusiastic on what she will pull off soon and can't wait to see how everything will turn out! *internal fangirl scream*

Anyway, stay tuned for more updates from our lovely author, **Tohsaka Rin** as I "encourage" her to update. Ciao~

 **Luviagelita Edelfelt (SPR)**


	9. Chapter 9

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

* * *

 **A/N** Ok, so here's my next chapter. I hope it lives up to your expectation Holix. Anyways, now that exams are over, hopefully I can do frequent updates, but I'll need to depend on my Beta and publisher as well. My dearest cousin, Luvia, thank you so much for putting up with someone like me. Once again, thanks for the support, and check out my publisher's story, **The Deadly Melody.** Enjoy~

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Daphne's POV**

It was horrifying and mortifying at the same time. One was an orb of rainbow colors, the other black with throbbing red veins. There they were, crashing and bounding back again, two forces with opposite charges, never ceasing. The two balls of power just kept on colliding with each other, wanting to know who would reign in the end. They never knew who was stronger, and neither did I. It was always a draw for them, or I was forced to leave the space and didn't know what was the end of another clash between them. Energies rippled off the surface of the orbs, and out to the infinite space around me. The energy was so strong I could feel my skin cracking under the pressure, numbing me.

I wanted to know the answer to the unanswered questions. Which one of the forces was stronger? As a mere human, we're always struggling to be the best, throwing aside everything else to reach our goals. That was our nature. That was how ugly this race called Humanity is like. We could sacrifice everything for the sake of power and fame, including friends and family. That's the true face behind that thin veil. Whether we like it or not, that's just how we are. That's what we had evolved into over the centuries. But, was it wise for me to know the answer?

I knew the truth behind the two orbs hovering in front of me. It had always been like this, for as long as I could remember. I saw the images every time I fell asleep, and sometimes, I could vaguely feel one of them pulsating at a faster rate, urging me to give in to the powers. There was a voice, always calling out for me. Telling me things. That it was mine. It was inside of me all along. My powers. It was rightfully mine all along. All that I had to do was to reach out and accept one of them. Only one of them. And the power would reshape me. It would reshape the world too.

Which one should I choose? I had waited for years to know the answer. I was waiting for the day when the two energies would know who was stronger in terms of raw power. The two sides in me. One good, the other was pure evil. Which one should I embrace? Of course, any sane human would say the good side, but how many times in recorded history had humanity walked down the path of darkness, for the sake of research, fame? How many times had crimes been committed because they wanted to see the sufferings of others?

I wanted to know, I wanted to feel it, when both of them were inside me, fighting for dominance, and I would use both of them as my own, as my extended limbs. I refused to choose among the two. They're all mine, so why did I had to make a decision for that? I would utilize both of them. I would be invincible. Nobody would be able to hurt me. Would be the strongest among all. Even my sister would have to bow down to my powers.

... Wait, no... What was I thinking? Where did the greed for power come from? I was supposed to be content with all that I had now. I had a family, even though my blood family left me to rot. I had sweet memories, forged by those who cared or me, even though I had none from the life I had before I woke up. I was clothed, fed, given a roof over my head. Was that... Was that all not enough for me?

I could still remember that day, even though a decade had passed.

I was left with nothing. I woke up with the mud, the cold and darkness. It was them who brought back the hope, the warmth, the light back into my life. I should appreciate it when my real family made no attempt to look for me. I had such high hopes, that I could return to them, to know who was the one who had raised me, but they never came for me. Not a word, no news indicated that they were looking for me. What was I to them? Some sort of trash they could dump away once they're fed up with me?

Perhaps, I was the one who had not accepted the truth. That somehow along the life I once had, my family deemed me guilty of something. Or they thought I was just another extra mouth to feed, so they left me to rot. But still, that didn't explain why would I wake up in such a place. With nothing but me, mud and darkness. Not to mention the injuries I had on me, and the waves of curses washing over me? It was a dark memory to me, it always would be.

I guess that somewhere deep inside myself, I still wanted to know who my true family was, who were the ones I was closest with? Who were the ones who had fed and clothed me before I was left alone, abandoned?

I shook away the thoughts, focusing on what was before me.

The image before my eyes slowly faded, and I tried to reach out to the two orbs of coalescing energy. It felt so near, I could feel it resonating with me, proving once more that I was their rightful owner. The black orb's surface rippled, the red veins popping, and the mud I woke up with fountained from it,covering the space. Wraiths or something along the line emerged from the mud, dragging me down. Down into the burning mud.

The weight was simply too much. Their despair, anguish, hatred. All those negative emotions pulling me down, drowning me in their endless torment. The mud covered my head, and poured into my lungs, my mouth, burning me through. It was pure agony. For a moment I was scared of this side of myself, I never knew I could be so evil at heart if I wanted to. It was terrifying, how you would even sell out yourself in order to reach greater heights.

I struggled. I really did. It was suffocating in the space here, and I wanted to leave. But I had no idea how to do so. I had always come and went as I wanted. But, I just wanted to leave now. I didn't want to see, to hear to feel all this anymore. It was too much.

The rainbow orb hovered closer. I could feel its presence, its energy trying to part the mud, reaching me. It was trying to make contact with me, but the mud was interfering. It glowed brighter, and more energy was channeled to part the mud. And I saw it. The orb. Its flicker had dimmed, not as bright as it was years ago. It seemed to have lost its powers over the time, losing to the mass of black. But it had not truly lost yet. There was still a chance. I had to fight for my freedom. I had to fight, and walk down the path of light.

One final pull and the mud once again swallowed me into its depths before I could reach out for my hope. I screamed and cried for help. Then, the entire world seemed to turn and broke apart.

Waking up and screaming, I sat up in bed, brushing a damp lock of dark hair with streaks of white away from my face. Wait... white streaks of hair? I looked at the strands, and sure enough, there were a few which were white in color. I stared in confusion at the sudden change. I went to sleep and woke up with white hair. So, the next time, was I going to get ruby eyes too? Not that I would complain of course. I would look like grandpa and Arcueid, and that was something to be happy with. Family resemblance, right?

I pulled myself off the bed, stretching my limbs to restore the blood flow, clearing my mind from the dream I had. Then, I sat down in front of my dresser to comb my hair with a projected comb. I was too lazy to go out and buy a new one after the one I had broke. No matter, I could project them when I wanted.

Looking into the mirror, I noticed something odd besides my bleached hair. Damn, I was just joking when I said about the red eyes. Bloody hell, I really had red eyes now. Not fully red, but there's a hint of red in the sea of sapphire blue. I groaned, not knowing what to tell the two of them when they asked about it. Whatever, I'd just come up with something to tell them anyway.

After a quick wash and a change of clothes, I went out from my room to the workshop to look for the two. They were normally there at this kind of the day, and I could sense their mana there. It may be a huge floor, but I was the better Magus.

* * *

Atalanta snarled in anger, showing her canine to the red bowman, who continued with the chase relentlessly. She was getting angry, with both him and herself. She had not managed to land even a scratch on him, but the man had grazed her a few time with his weird arrows, and occasionally swords. She dodged another one, jumping to a side before bolting forward, escaping an arrow aimed for her leg. She snarled again and looked up at the man, who was closing the distance, a smirk clear on his tanned face.

She had fired another round of Phoebus Catastrophe at him earlier out of rage, and he responded in kind with his swords destroying every single one of them. She was infuriated. Who was this man to deny the complaint she sent to the Gods, seeking help? In doing so, he was defying the divine spirits themselves, yet he was not punished for it. He had emerged from the smoke, unharmed, smirking all his way as a black bow appeared in his hand and arrows began to fire at her.

If it weren't for her reflexes, she would've been a pin cushion by now. She ran, as fast as she could, back into the city, jumping from building to building, trying to lose the hound who was still on her scent. It didn't work. He saw her, and fired all sorts of projectiles at her, effectively forcing her to stop now and then or to alter her course. He was closing the distance with every stop she made, and it worried the huntress.

It was a cat and mouse chase, and the cat was having a fun time toying with the mouse, and she hated being the mouse. It was damn frustrating, especially with the stupid smirk of his. She wanted to place an arrow straight through his head and end it, but the blasted fool was a competent dual wielder too, and that, was something she liked even less.

"Atalanta, you might as well go faster," Archer shouted with a smile, as a few swords appeared behind him, and bolted for the enemy, nearly skewering her like meat on a barbecue stick. "If you don't run, the chase wouldn't be fun."

She cursed, and fired off more arrows at the man, who shattered them with a sweep from his falchions. Another sweep and more shattered into mana, with him increasing the speed, catching up. She couldn't risk turning her back to him, and she had no idea where the hell he was forcing her to retreat. A sword sailed past her face, severing a few locks of her hair, and angered her.

Mana concentrated on her bow as the next shot was fueled up more than the ones from earlier. It left the bow, shooting like a meteor across the sky. Archer's eyes widened at the sight, immediately summoning Rho Aias to block the arrow, and him skidding to a stop, his boots scraping against the ground.

The projectile and shield collided, and power rippled through the air. The immense mana channeled through the two was so great Archer could feel his circuits reacting at the mana signature. The first petal began to crack, and he poured more mana into his defense, not wanting to lose to Atalanta who was putting everything except her Noble Phantasm into the blow. She was snarling too, angered by another trick from the Servant who was supposed to fight like a bowman, and not some stupid swordsman or spellcaster.

The first petal shattered, and Archer could feel the damage done to his body. In his memories, only Gae Bolg had managed to penetrate the shield up to the seventh layer before stopping, and that has taken a lot of him. He hissed, as the second petal began to have spiderweb like cracks in them, before shattering into raw mana. His tendons snapped and broke, some muscles torn or bruised, but he could still hold it.

But he didn't want to risk having himself injured due to his foolish calculations. He projected several broadswords and sent them flying in her direction. Her eyes widened in surprise before somersaulting away to avoid the blow. Her concentration on the arrow was disrupted, and the projectile lost its power. Archer dismissed his shield, stepping aside for the arrow to miss him.

"Why are thou mocking an archer's style of fighting?! Don't you have the pride as a Heroic Spirit? I shalt let thou taste hell itself." Atalanta screamed in anger.

The red and black bowman crossed his arms, coolly regarding the enemy before him. "Like you said, I have no pride, that much I know. And if you're going to focus on pride, you better feed them to dogs. This is war, and I need every need at my disposal to win this. I am pledged to bring my Master victory."

She spat. As much as she had wanted to retort, her Master too had summoned her from her slumber to fight for her own cause. Though she had no objections in fulfilling her Master's wish, she hated being summoned because of a certain bowman who thought he was a swordsman.

"If you are thinking about the pride like an archer fighting like a Saber, drop it. I am summoned into this class, and I had no choice of things in the first place." He said calmly, contemplating her expression.

"I shalt throw thou into the fire of hell myself!" She roared, stomping her feet in anger. An arrow came into shape on her bow, ready to be fired.

"Been there, seen it." He replied nonchalantly. "I've seen enough of all this called civilization."

That caught the other Servant off guard as her arrow dissipated into mana. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. He wasn't bluffing. She knew it by just looking at his eyes. Now that she looked closely, she realized that the man before her was one who had seen the world. Every aspect, every outcome. And the man had been broken by the sights he had encountered. She didn't know how much he had gone through, how much he had suffered, how much he was broken. But she did know he wasn't one to be taken lightly.

"You've seen everything?" She echoed, noting the facial expression of the man, but he didn't even twitch his eyebrow.

He closed his eyes, trying to hide the grief and despair he was feeling, again sealing his emotions away. He had to harden his heart. He had a mission to accomplish. Not only he needed to obey the orders of his Master, he had to save the woman he loved and cared before she went down too far down the path, and regretted things when she's conscious again. No matter what, she was his priority, followed by the war and his current Master.

He had no idea how right he was in his priority.

Opening his eyes, he felt his resolution renewed, and his mind was clear. He knew what to focus on the war now. But before that, he had to defeat this enemy first. Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in his hands, the weight of his beloved swords felt reassuring. He watched in mild amusement as the huntress nocked a few arrows onto her arrow, firing them all at once. He smirk, propelling himself off the ground, dodging and deflecting the arrows with his swords.

She kept jumping away from his, pulling distance as the swordsman tried to close the distance. Occasionally, he would fire a few swords to change her course of direction, sometimes to stop her in her tracks. Two blurs of green and red jumped from building to building, with the both of them nearing Shinto once more, and moved further into the city. Pedestrians looked up in wonder, watching the silver streaks across the skies, thinking that it was just another meteor shower.

 _Funny how the human's thoughts are like sometimes..._ Archer thought to himself, twisting his body to avoid an arrow, and pushing forward again at breakneck speed.

She smiled in glee, enjoying the fight now. Though he was still stubborn with the swords, he was good with the bow too, proven by the elegance of his stance and how he fired the arrows. He was both, and it was an honor for her to fight such an opponent. Though she was still angry that he refused to fight like a true bowman.

"This's more like it, Red!" She shouted, firing arrows, and jumping to another building. She turned to look at the man, who maneuvered from side to side, avoiding them and bringing his sword up to those he couldn't dodge. He pressed forward with monstrous speed, never faltering.

Archer dashed forward, and Atalanta responded by firing more arrows. He raised his swords, and the arrows shattered against the sword. The so-called shield itself too broke after several collisions, but the projection continued to appear in his hands, each one lasting longer than the last. Broadswords appeared behind him, firing at the woman, who nimbly jumped out of their way, her arrows never stopping.

Swords landed to her left, causing her to change her direction, and retreated towards the right, always facing the smirking man. More landed on both left and right, and she had to retreat using the narrow space he had given her in the midst of the swords. She hissed, knowing his intention, yet she had no other option but to follow his game.

"What are thou thinking?" She asked after another sword sailed past her cheek, grazing a thin red line.

An arrow hit him in the shoulder, but he ignored the embedded shaft. "Oh? May I know what are you saying?"

She hissed again, her eyes gleaming with rage. "Don't fool around, Red! I want to know why thou plan for this absurdity!"

He skidded to a stop, projecting his bow and firing an altered version of Caladbolg, gouging the ground beside her. He clicked his tongue, and the bow disappeared once more. He shrugged, and smiled. "Well, nothing much I guess. I just think that it's time for us to return _to the beginning._ "

* * *

Meanwhile, the two true Servant of the Sword collapsed onto their knees, blood pouring from the gash on their body. Their swords dropped with a metallic clank to the ground, two pairs of emerald orbs staring into each other. Mordred coughed, blood seeping through her lips. She smiled, and weakly raised a hand, touching her father's cheek.

Her hand wavered a little, but Arthuria grasped it in hers and pressed it against her cheek. Mordred sighed in satisfaction, her eyes showing less of her vicious nature.

"Finally..." She murmured. "Are you willing to accept me now?"

She slowly nodded, smiling back in return. "I guess you never truly understand why I didn't want you to inherit the throne. I wanted a life for you, one that's free from all the backstabbing. I wanted you to be happy, especially when I knew you are my son."

Her only good eye widened at the revelation "You what? Then for all those years, for all these centuries, what is my revenge for?"

"There never was any. You let the wish of sitting on the throne, of being acknowledged by me clouded your better judgment. I don't blame you for it, though. At that time, no matter what I tried to say, you wouldn't have believed me anyway. You were far too rebellious."

She scoffed. "Right, as if..."

"Oh, so a knight refuse to admit her wrongs huh?" Arthuria asked, a little amused at the sight of her frowning son. _That must've been how I looked when I frowned too..._

Modred took a quick glance at the puddle of blood around them. "Maybe it's best for us to dematerialize and return to our respective Masters."

"Go on, I'll walk like this to go back. I'm not a true Heroic Spirit. Such deeds are beyond my league."

"Too bad." She said, smirking before she began to disappear in a shower of red. "See you later then, father."

She stood up, using the sword as a crutch to guide her back. "Likewise, son..."

Athuria limped towards the Emiya residence, smiling to herself as her son, who was in spirit form, told her about her adventures when she was still a knight.

 _It seems that she had yet to know that she isn't really Mordred, but seeing her like this, I suppose I can find it in me to forgive her..._

 _Merlin... Morgana, is this the ending you wish to see?_

* * *

Chulainn was enjoying his fight with the vampire very much, and it was intoxicating, to say the least. Every thrust, every jab, every swing boiled his blood, with coursed through his veins, urging more of the feeling. To some people, drugs like morphine were their addiction, but to the hound, it was a good fight he was aching for. His partner, the demonic red spear craved for the blood of its enemies, and it had already tasted some tonight.

Vlad, on the other hand, was a great fighter too, but his speed was nothing when compared to the blue-haired man. That much was infuriating to the vampire, who was trying his best to land a decisive blow on the man. Unfortunately, until now, he only managed to scratch the other party. He should be happy that he was able to do so, but the smug look on the Irish's face angered him to no end.

"Stand where you are, you lowborn!"

He smirked, and propelled himself forward, Gae Bolg thrust forward and lacerated one arm. The vampire hissed in pain, and swung his lance out, tearing through Chulainn's jumpsuit, and he smirked even wider, pummeling the man in the face. Vlad staggered backward, holding his face, and the Irishman kicked him hard, smashing a fist into his gut. The vampire retched, barely standing, but Chulainn wasn't such a kind man. Again, he pivoted on one foot, swinging his leg hard into the other guy, sending him flying across the ground, smashing into a tree.

Vlad coughed, his legs shaking as he tried to stand up. His mist was unstable, even at its peak, it didn't seem to affect the man too much.

 _Who the hell is he?!_

Chulainn smiled, crouching down, his lance resting on his thighs. "Hey, vampire, for a bloodsucker, you're pretty good with that spear."

He spat at the man's feet. "I don't need your pity."

"Ain't giving ya any..." He said with a chuckle, standing up and twirled the spear in hand. "Up and running?"

Without waiting for an answer, he rocketed forward, lance thrust, and was parried by Vlad with his spear, his body twisting one side to avoid the man, then swinging his sword horizontally, cutting his back. Chulainn grunted, staggering forward. But he quickly regained his footing and swung out his spear too. Vlad jumped away, but the Hound of Ireland turned and jumped after him, lance jabbing at the man, who parried them with all his might.

More blasts of magical energy fired at them, but Medea took extra care not to hit any of her allies. Vlad was hit with a few, and the vampire retreated slowly, pulling distance from the Irishman as the hound continued to jump after him. Medea was hot on his trail as well, her magical blasts aiding them Red Faction in any way possible, all the while wearing that smile on her face. The elven woman was enjoying the fight very much, as none had decided to make her their target, and simply focused on running or fighting their opponents before being interrupted.

Chulainn stepped forward, knocking the weapon from his enemy's hand, and swung his lance, cutting deep into flesh. But at the last possible moment, mist shrouded the man, and the lance sliced through the thin air. He clucked his tongue at the trick but said nothing. Instead, he swung his lance around him in a huge arc, avoiding any ambush from the vampire. Unfortunately for him, he didn't swing the lance over his head, and the man took the chance to throw the weapon down from the sky.

However, the Son of Light was already aware of his attack. He did have Protection of the Arrows after all. Easily dodging the lance, and thrusting his lance into the ground, the sweeping up the earth to blind his enemy's sight, he lunged forward, thrusting and swinging with his instincts. He could feel the effect of the mist on him, but he shrugged the uncomfortable thought aside and swung hard to his left, and again he sliced through the thin air.

Vlad hide a small smile of his own as he watched from a nearby tree. When the man had kicked up the Earth, he had slipped away unnoticed and projected several of his image below. The man did cut him down, again and again. But what he cut was not him, merely projections. He thought his trick was flawless.

He certainly didn't expect him to jump out from the dust with a bloodthirsty grin, throwing the red demonic spear at him. Vlad swiftly jumped away, narrowly missing the projectile as Chulainn landed beside his favorite weapon, pulling it from the ground. Vlad didn't let the opportunity pass, as he too rocketed forward with his lance.

Chulainn snickered, crouching down and swinging his lance out, slicing through the vampire's calves. The man shouted in pain, falling forward. He pointed the tip of Gae Bolg down, ready to take away the enemy's life, but he rolled away, using the momentum to get back to his feet, grabbing his spear along the way.

"I return what you said earlier." He said with a snarl. "Stay put, and I will end things painlessly. Or you want a painful death, I can issue one, no problem."

Vlad spat, and with his will, he once again called upon the mist, wrapping them around his body like some sort of armor. The demigod whistled at the sight, as Vlad's body began to shimmer and disappear. Chulainn looked around him, trying to sense the man's mana,

None. It was as if the man had just disappeared from the world.

"Weird...' He mumbled to himself before pain shot through him, and blood flowed from his wounded back. He swung his spear, again slicing through thin air. Another cut on his arm, and he immediately thrust to the side, only to hit nothing. Another grazed his cheek, his leg, his chest, his more on his arms and legs.

Soon the proud spearman was a bloody mess. Blood flowing from his wound, his battle gear torn and smeared with blood. His expression was even worse. It was like looking at a man who has been cheated very thoroughly. He wasn't liking this fight.

 _It's like fighting that damn Saber again. No... Even worse than that. I can't even see this son of a bitch!_

"Hell, if you're a Heroic Spirit, then quit this hide-and-seek and face me!" The only answer he received was another slash on his back, followed by another one on his thigh. He lashed out angrily, already knowing he wouldn't hit anything. "Coward!"

Mana began to concentrate around his spear, radiating off the tip of his spear, sending shivers down everyone's spine. The spear would taste blood tonight, no matter what. That was why he was fighting. If the guy refused to meet him head on, then he had no choice but to force him to show himself.

He jumped into the air, and for one moment, he seemed to be hovering in midair, his demonic red spear catching the attention of all those on the compound. He smirked confidently, feeling his beloved spear drawing power from the surroundings.

 _Lass, better get your ass outta here. Same goes to those of our Faction. I'm unleashing a version of my Gae Bolg, and it's gonna get bloody here..._

 _Wait..._ She began but immediately turned to the Red Masters. "Red!"

That was enough to catch their attention as Shirou took a look at it and dashed towards the women and the injured Karma, Rho Aias forming in his hands. Bazett too rushed in and took shelter. Waver moved the mercury around all those he could, but not fast enough.

A stone slab came into view, knocking Masters and Servants alike off the ground, flying through the air and landing with a bloody thud. Combat homunculi moved in, targeting the injured, and tried to not get in the way of Hercules, who, in his madness, had no idea who were the allies or foes. Another loud roar reverberated across the compound, and the giant moved with ferocity, slashing at everyone and everything in his way without mercy.

Chulainn landed with a grunt and eyed the massive giant in distaste before jumping aside to avoid a direct blast from Medea, who hovered above him. "Oi, you assholes. That was my kill, stay out of it!"

Ferdinand didn't even look at him as he regrouped his troops and wind up the Red Faction, with his homunculi forming a protective circle around them. "Shut it, Lancer, if I let you do what you intended to do, everyone will be caught in the blast. Move!"

The spearman said something under his breath, but he grabbed Bazett and jumped over the threshold, the woman staring at bewilderment at the man slinging her over a shoulder like some sack of potatoes. Luvia, Sakura, and Karma took the cue and ran, with the homunculi opening the way and Rider protecting them. Shirou followed suit, his projected swords hovering in the air, ready to fire at a moment's notice. He kept a tight eye on the blob of mercury and Caster, as they were the ones capable of long range combat at the moment.

The Servant of Madness continued to swing his massive slab around like some sort of toy, and the Masters shouted in annoyance and tried to avoid being cut in half by the primitive weapon. The Servants tried to stop the slab but ended up being thrown into the air, again trying to avoid the deadly weapon in midair. They even tried to go after the escaping Red Faction, but with Hercules and Medea on their side, it was impossible to break through their line. Hercules had the brute force in combat, while Medea was skilled in mage craft and long ranged combat.

Lancelot rushed forward, his madness returning as he tried to break through them, only to have Hercules stepping in and blocking his way. Medea easily destroyed whatever Shakespeare had wind up, and shooting at Vlad, who was trying to cloak himself with the mist. It was a one side massacre, but the Red Faction was unwilling to kill them yet. They were toying with them, to them, the Blue was people they could destroy at any time they want.

With the Red leaving the compound, Ferdinand rounded up his men and followed suit, sending a command to the Greek Hero to follow him. The monstrous man let out a roar, shaking the air, and left them. This time, the Blue Faction decided to stay at where they were, as Medea was still hovering over them, ready to blast them with her magic at any time.

With Ferdinand and Hercules closed the rear, their retreat went without any problem, and in no time, the albino caught up with the hound, who snarled in displeasure, as he didn't enjoy retreating from a fight as good as the one he had just now. Meanwhile, the Caster in the air continued to fire blasts of mana to block the enemies' path, ensuring that her allies were able to get away, while steadily following them. Hercules continued with his mad roar, his roar echoing across town, and faded when his Master dematerialized him.

"What ya think ya were doing, albino boy?" Chulainn asked, anger lacing his voice, as they continued to sprint away, following the homunculi to the city outskirts.

"I was merely doing the right thing. If you had attacked with your Noble Phantasm, you might be able to take down the enemy Lancer, but you risk putting ourselves in danger." He stated as a matter of fact.

"He has a point, Lancer." Said the Enforcer on his shoulder.

Shirou continued to eye his house, which was already laying in ruins by now, before an arrow landed in the compound, blowing the entire place apart and a mushroom cloud erupting into the sky.

"What the hell?!" He cursed whoever destroyed his home.

His answer was soon answered as his future alternate self-landed beside him, sprinting at the same speed.

"Your doing?" Shirou asked through clenched teeth.

"Yeah..." Archer replied calmly. "Tried to finish them off. Doubt it, though. I saw Atalanta firing an arrow to counter mine."

"You fucking son of a bitch! That was my house!" The younger male retorted in anger.

Archer didn't even bash an eyebrow at the comment. "Technically, it was mine too."

Shirou decided to shut up, and contacted Saber through their telepathic link to ask her to meet them at Ryuudouji.

* * *

The explosion was massive, even with the interception from Atalanta's own arrow and a few of them took a direct hit from the raw power of mana. They now lay sprawled on the ground, smoke rising from their bodies as each and every one of them channeled mana through their body to at least close some of the bigger wounds. Beowulf was the first to stand, followed by Vlad and Atalanta, and Shakespeare disappeared into his spiritual form, conserving mana.

Lorelei and Waver emerged from the blob unharmed, and the Mystic Code returned to its default form before the lord stored it away back into its metal canister. They surveyed the damage around them, and he saw the frown on their faces. Lorelei, however, turned to Waver, and the two spoke in hushed tones before the black knight stood at her side, his mind completely lost again.

She dismissed the man, not wanting to cause any more damage, and said something to the lord, who scoffed before moving towards Beowulf, and applied a swift healing spell on the latter. Francis and Charlotte came running out from the house, concerned with their situation. But they were injured as well, but with some healing spells, the wounds were trivial matters.

"A complete lost," Beowulf admitted.

Francis grabbed his arm, urging the man to look at him. "It's not over yet. Our Rider and Assassin remain unknown, while they had bared all their cards to us. We have a chance."

Yvonne was pissed. "And I couldn't even get a shot at any of them. Shit, I'm useless. But I doubt my skills was enough to deal with them. Anyway, I had managed to gather ample information.

"Indeed." Replied the rest of them, except Lorelei and Waver.

Lorelei began to leave the place. "I've had enough ruse for a night. I'm going to wash this grime off me and get some rest. Then, I have important matters to speak to you about, Waver."

 _Shit, she had never addressed me by my name. I'm so dead. That's why I said I refuse to return here in the first place, but the damn woman refused to listen to me..._

He immediately caught up with the woman, picking up the appendage with the Command Seals, and silently cursing himself about his luck when facing woman.

* * *

Arthuria turned to face her son, who was still in spiritual form. Mordred sensed the change in atmosphere, and materialized beside her father, gazing at her with a worried expression.

"Something wrong, father?" She asked, meeting her father's emerald orbs.

Arthuria looked at her son. She had not expected the rebel to accept her so quickly. After all, her hatred was one born from her rejection of the child. Yet, through that fight, that slash, the mindset of the younger knight seemed to have changed much. Then she realized, that perhaps for all this time, the young knight's true wish was to have her father speak to her, not as a king, but a father.

"No. It's just that, our Masters have reached the conclusion of the war, and they wish to regroup somewhere else."

Mordred smirked. "Care to tell me where?" She asked jokingly.

"Don't push it, young lady. In this war, we are enemies after all. But if no one was looking, I won't mind playing the role of a father." She replied affectionately.

"See ya..." The younger blonde said as she watched her father jump over building and building. She would want to follow, but her wounds restricted her movements.

 _Nevermind, at least she believe in me now, so how should I let things progress from here?_

* * *

 **Behind the scene...**

Caster : Tell me how did you guys meet.

Saber : It's a long story...

Caster : Make it short.

Saber : We fell for each other whenever since we were in secondary school.

Shirou : She started it.

Saber : No, you did. You kept on giving me teddy bears, flowers, and chocolate.

Shirou : Well...

Saber : And lastly, a ring! A diamond ring!

Caster : It must be expensive.

Saber : Indeed it was. Tomorrow, we're heading to London to see the Big Ben.

Shirou : Well, I need to get us some gowns and tux...

Caster : That's wonderful. Think I can tag along?

Shirou and Saber : CASTER!

Caster : Just kidding~

By : **Caster Medea Nightraven**

* * *

 **A/N (SPR)** :

Whew... that was another lengthy chapter to beta. Seriously... I wonder how this crazy author pulls it off (not that I am complaining or anything). Anyway, SPR back again to drop a few words here. (Damn you, Tohsaka...) Thanks once again for reading this wonderful fic, fav & follow, and please, pretty please, R&R! A hearty huge shout out to our beloved friend, **Caster M.N.** , for her awesome and cute BTSs! **loudly applauds**

Here's a reply to a guest (ladybug):

Thanks for your review. Glad to see someone from outside the fandom loving it so much. Looking forward to your support.

That's all folks. Sit back and wait patiently for the next update from our lovely author (my dear cousin) and I am sure she won't disappoint ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

* * *

 **A/N** **(SPR):**

Hey there, dear readers! Thanks once again for diligently coming back to read this fic and fol & fav it~ Really love all your reviews and input. So, here's another chappie by Rin-chan. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Caren Hortensia sank onto her bed once she got back to her chambers, not even bothering to get a quick bath or at least change her clothes. The young priestess was having a grave headache from the aftermath of the battle last night at the Shinto area. A samurai compound was completely destroyed, no doubt it was the home of one of the participants, and from what she read from her father's notes, it was likely to be the Emiya's place. Roads outside the compound were damaged as well, though not as much as in other areas in the city.

The bridge had collapsed, and she had no idea who the hell tore the thing down. It was hard enough to hide the fact of the ruined compound, now the bridge? How was she supposed to get the bridge up and working in the shortest time possible without raising any suspicion that thaumaturgy actually existed, and that there was a secret war being fought over a supposed Holy Grail?

Not to mention the foreign graveyard, which was completely turned upside down. It was a miracle that the place was still a little intact, though she pitied the dead who were disturb by none other than the dead too. She wondered what they were thinking when they watched their beds being cut down by the legendary heroes. It must've been a great fight, but no one enjoyed seeing their peace being disturbed.

She sighed in exasperation, trying to come up with an excuse for the damage. It was surprising how her father and grandfather had done to hide the war, and how well they had managed to do so. She wished she had half of their abilities so that she won't be facing such a major headache now. It was enough of work keeping them away from different factions, but now, massive collateral damage? That was something she wasn't trained for and would need to act on her own judgment.

She pulled herself off the bed, moving towards her desk to prepare the necessary paperwork to deal with the Church, Association as well as the mundane human world. Though she had no ties to the Magus world, with the addition of the new Tohsaka head refusing any help from her, she had nothing to do with their world in the first place. But still, they had thought that she would be the best candidate to fill the spot.

 _Or perhaps, they could find no one else, so they decided to force me into this without giving me an option. Well, no use musing over the past, now I need a solid excuse for the damage they've just inflicted on the city..._

A knock on her door broke her out from her train of thoughts, and a member entered the room with a bow. "Sister, how do you wish for us to access the situation?"

She sighed, turning to face him after writing down a few words. "How fast can our men repair all the damage?"

"I'm not sure. However, judging from the degree of damage, we might not be able to finish things before dawn cracks. We would probably need to seal the place up, and wait for the local authorities to finish the patching up."

She nodded in agreement. "Indeed. If the area is already bared to the public, and the repairs are done at a fast rate, surely people would begin to suspect things. Very well, execute according to your plans. I'm counting on you."

The priest bowed before leaving the room. Caren turned back to her paperwork. "Now, where was I? Maybe a terrorist bombing will be a good enough excuse..."

* * *

"So, are you going to tell me what are you trying to prove, or am I free to make my own guesses?" Asked the younger among the two women in the workshop.

The elderly man, however, ignored her question and focused on the test tube before him, dripping a drop of reagent into the tube and waiting for a result. He didn't have to wait long, though. The moment the reagent dispersed, the solution turned black with pulsing red vein. She had watched this same experiment over and over again over the years, but it had never shown its result so quickly.

She continued to watch as the man sat down, writing something in his notebook before putting the said item away, turning to face her and Arcueid, who sat on the couch, drinking wine while waiting for him to finish his so-called researches. The elder female said nothing, but her quiet stare was clearly demanding an explanation. She too had seen the same thing being performed over the years, and like him, she too was not optimistic with the way things had gotten lately.

His gaze was caught by the younger woman's appearance. "What happened?"

"Huh?" She asked dumbly.

"Your hair and eyes." He said in a monotone. Arcueid was watching in silence, but even she was unsettled by the new look she had.

"Nothing." She answered, offering no other explanations.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he decided to drop the topic for now, and focus on it when the White Princess was not around. At the moment, they had other matters to attend to.

"Let's talk about the war first, shall we?" He began, deciding to avert the topic for the time being. They had been watching the clash between the two factions before he conducted the experiment, and saw the fall of Red Assassin. "So, basically we know quite a lot of the assembled Masters identity by now."

Daphne took a sip of her wine and smiled. "Indeed. None of them are aware of the true threat in the game, and I'm not going to spoil it for them just yet. Shell we begin with the Red Faction? Emiya Shirou, Master of Saber. A Faker, but a strong one nonetheless. I'm fairly convinced that he can do more than projecting those blades."

"From what we had managed to gather over the years, he's a proficient dual-wielder as well. Though he refused to join the Association, he has made a name for himself over the years as a Freelancer. Also, don't forget the fact that he has been honing Rune magic over the years. He may be hopeless when it comes to elemental based thaumaturgy, but if it's not, then he's quite a good one." Said the White Princess, reading off Daphne's notes.

"Hmm, and the Servant, a sword wielder, and none other than the famous King of Knights. I can't believe that the king famous for his victories on the battlefield would be a little girl who loves to play dress up, having a son who was supposed to be a girl and calls her father. And please, don't even let me get start on her marriage part. Or I'll end up thinking that Guinevere was a man and Lancelot was another woman who posed as a guy." Grumbled the Magus, who was staring into the air, trying to absorb all the fact she had taken in so far. "And, as far as I could see, she has two possible Noble Phantasm. One, the wind that surrounds her sword. And two, the sword itself, which is obvious. Excalibur. Stat wise, pretty high, nothing less comes from the strongest among the classes. High Magic Resistance and Riding, due to class skills. And personal skills such as Instinct and Prana Burst, all A ranked. Damn, a hard opponent to take down."

"Bazett Fraga McRemitz. An Enforcer and a Fraga to boost things. If she takes out Fragarach, then maybe it's time to say goodbye to the war. It's a Noble Phantasm in its own way. Though the true mechanics of how it works is still a mystery to me." Continued Zelretch, who was pouring a glass of wine for himself. "And her Servant. His clothes, definitely Celtic. But, there are many spearmen in Celtic mythology, making the job of identifying this man a lot harder. But they also say that only the swiftest are chosen to be spearmen. With his ability, there aren't even three of his level of skill in history. Add in a demonic red spear, that leaves only one man. The Hound of Chulainn."

Daphne nodded. "Stat-wise, he's not far behind Saber, but his personal skill is the ace for him. Protection from Arrows? Literally speaking, no projectiles can reach him, with a rank B, and Runes to boost things? Though we have yet to encounter him using Runes. Quite a master in the art, if we judge things by his stat. Another headache on the plate, if you ask me."

Arcuied's eyes flashed at the comment, a little amused. "Well, the Edelfelt has secured the Archer class this time, unlike the previous two which was monopolized by the Tohsaka clan. The Master herself is a mercenary, experienced in combat and jewel magic. Luviagelita Edelfelt is the family head now, and she's not to be underestimated. As for her Servant, he gives off quite a weird impression to me. It seems that he's part of the world, but at the same time no. How should I put this? ... Nevermind, move on to his stats."

"Hmm, let's see. Generally, as the Archer, his stats are quite low. Too low for a Heroic Spirit to make it to the Throne of Heroes, and is summoned into this vessel. Basically, most of his stats are B-ranked, but if we look back at the style he used to fight, there might be a possibility we need to consider." She paused, arranging her words. "Similar to the Emiya, he might be a Faker."

Zelretch raised an eyebrow in question. Her sister seemed equally confused as well. A Faker was uncommon enough, but two? In the same war? Now that was something you don't see every day.

"Consider this." She said, channeling mana through her circuits, bringing up the image of Archer and Shirou's stance and swords. At a close inspection, one would see the striking similarity between the two. "I think you both get what I'm trying to say here. The Throne of Heroes exists outside the time axis, and heroes from the future can be summoned as well. At the same time, it is an undeniable fact that Humanity nowadays has lost the ability to create miracles, let alone ascend to the Throne. However, there is always an exception to things. In this case, we can contemplate the possibility that Archer is the alternate future version of Emiya Shirou."

"Now that's something you don't see every day." Remarked the only male in the room. "Leaving him aside, we'll move on to the Tohsaka clan. With the demises of the previous head, Tohsaka Rin, her younger sister, who was supposed to be the heiress of Matou, take the position of the family head under the support of her sister and the Association. A jewel magic practitioner as well, though she's not as good as the Edelfelt considering the fact that she's still new to this branch of magic. Nevertheless, she has made herself well known in the Association with her Elemental Affinity, Imaginary Numbers. Though I doubt she will be any trouble at this point."

"Servant wise..." Daphne continued, recalling what she had seen. "Rare to see someone of this class to possess Independent Action, but who am I to complain? She also has Monstrous Strength and Divinity, so her true identity should be quite well known too. A high Magic Resistance too, paired with an A+ Riding skill. No doubt she can even ride Divine Beasts. Stat wise, her agility is on par with Lancer, the swiftest among all the classes, though as a Rider, I think it meant her chariot or mount."

Arcueid looked like she was about to faint. It was a hell lot of information to digest, and she wasn't the type to sit around, analyzing things, and planning their next move. All this was boring her to death, but she was trying her very best not to scream or simply storm out from the room. It was impolite and unladylike after all. She didn't want to leave a bad impression, at least no to these two anyway. The rest of the world, they could go and rot all they want, and she wouldn't even give a damn about things. It was none of her concern, right?

"What about the Caster class? They were Magus too before they died, so would they pose a threat to the rest of those in the war?" She asked, mustering as much interest as she could into her voice. Though whether it was convincing or not, she didn't know.

"Caster huh? She might be a threat to all parties in the war, but I doubt that she's the only Magus among the Servants. That Archer you mentioned earlier, Daphne, it was a form of Gradation Air that he uses, correct?" The female nodded. "Then, it is better to consider all kinds of odds, instead of focusing on just one of them at this moment. If we wish to go according to our initial plan, then we must think wide."

"Agreed." Remarked the youngest in the room. "In a war, all elements make a significant change in the pace if we know how to manipulate them to our will. Now, we need to fully understand what type of participants in this ritual we're facing so that we can have a better idea on how to push them in the way we want them to go."

Arcueid held the urge to roll her eyes at what they had said. "Back to Caster?"

"Right." Said the younger woman, rummaging through her notes. "For this Servant, we have yet to discern her true identity as well. However, it is clear that she is not one we should be underestimating, especially if we're in her own territory. This class of Servant has this type of formidable ability, though if one is allied to them, then a huge advantage is theirs. So, likely to say that both faction now has the backup of their Casters, and it is unwise to take them out at this point."

Zelretch nodded in affirmative. "You're right. Though we have a vague outline on what the Servants are like, and roughly their abilities, but their trump card has yet to be revealed. We must wait. Wait for the right moment to strike and take down as many as we could."

Daphne eyed him curiously. "Grandpa, last time I checked, you're not like this. I thought you love to do things your way instead of following the guide book." The vampire shot her a glare but said nothing to her comment. So she continued, ignoring the glare. "Caster, one of the weaker classes, but her mana and personal skills are not something we should take lightly. We'll see more about it in due time."

"The Master?" Asked her sister.

She shrugged. "To be frank, I have no idea about that. Though I can make an assumption that she and her Master has been staying at Ryuudou Temple all this time. From the feedback of my familiars, it is clear that there has been Magus activity there since the beginning of the war."

"Then we can put her aside for now," Zelretch said. "Moving on. The Assassin class of the Red is no longer a concern. And that's something. Though his Master might be a different matter."

"I won't think too much if I were you, though, gramps. After all, the boy lost his Command Seals when the lord took off his arm. Well, it's better to count in the possibility that he might be able to receive another set, but..." She let herself trail off.

He nodded in agreement. "Then, moving on with the Einzberns, I never thought they would be able to come up with such delicate work. That combat homunculus was simply astounding. In ten years, they managed to fabricate one which excels in close and ranged combat. Maybe this time they actually stand a chance to win things. Though I must say, I think that something's off."

"Err, mind to enlighten me?" Asked the White Princess, who was trying her very best to stay awake and pay attention to their conversation.

Daphne put down her glass, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. "Ever since the beginning of this foolish ritual, the Einzberns had always been the one to provide a vessel for the Holy Grail. However, what grandfather wanted to say is, the man didn't feel like a Lesser Grail to him. He did help with the development of the Grail, hence he more or less knows how does the mechanics work."

"I'll research deeper into things. For now, leave the homunculus aside. His Servant is a bigger threat to all. Hercules, one of the strongest Servant to be summoned into the war. With his already high stats, he now has the reinforcement of Mad Enhancement, boosting all of his ranks a whole rank higher. Paired with his Noble Phantasm, he's undefeatable."

"Oh come on, gramps, don't lose hope so early. It's time for mayhem to crash the party. The damn man may have a powerful Noble Phantasm as his ace, we have more up our sleeves to kick all their asses, and loads more to spare. Now, what about the Blue Faction?"

Arcueid decided it was enough. She needed a break from all this. Standing up and leaving for the door, she left the two to their conversation.

* * *

Shirou sat down on the tatami mats, eyeing the rest of his Faction with a tired gaze. He was exhausted from the fighting and running, but it wasn't time to relax yet. They needed to clear some things up, and they all agreed to do so before resting. Personally, he was grateful a certain female didn't come to join in the fun, or everyone would end up much worst that they had expected.

Luvia and Sakura were wrapping bandages on Karma's stump, the latter had yet to recover from his shock. Shirou couldn't blame him. He never would know that he could lose so easily after all. He was a novice when it comes to the war. The two females applied another healing spell and sank onto the floor as well, heaving sighs of relief.

The Einzbern guy was seated across the table, eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest. Two homunculi stood behind him, their weapons resting by their side, and eyeing them with their crimson eyes. They seemed to pierce everyone in the room, and the Magus turned away with a cough, his sight landing on the Enforcer in the corner.

Bazett ignored the rest of them, and her lips and brow twitched sometimes. The younger male was positive that the woman was berating her Servant for his rash act earlier. He kind of felt sorry for the man, but remembering that the hound had twice tried to kill him in the past, it was better to see the man being reprimanded.

Caster emerged from the door, carrying a tray of steaming tea. He had offered to help, but the Servant ordered him to sit down, and with her staff pointing at his head, had no choice but to oblige. Though he was very shocked by how the Magus was treating them this time, and even more when she had asked for their names.

He thought she would remember things, just like how the rest of them had like, but she seemed to be different. Shirou chose to ignore the fact for now and took a sip of the tea. It was soothing, to say the least. Bazett too took a sip, taking a seat beside the male, causing him to flinch ever so slightly.

"Thank you for the sanctuary, Caster." The Enforcer began, directing her gaze to the hooded woman.

Medea pulled back her hood, revealing a beautiful face with purple long hair and elf-like ears. She was a striking beauty to their sight. "It's no trouble at all. I will have to hypnotize the monks here later, asking them to leave the place for now."

Bazett scanned the room, searching for Medea's Master. But except for those she already knew, she saw no one else around the place. Stretching out her senses, she detected a small amount of mana emanating from a nearby room. "Where's your Master?"

Medea smiled bitterly. "Ah, he's a kid. I don't want to drag him into all this if he doesn't want to. To me, it's clear that all he wanted to do is to play video games. All this time, I have been protecting him by keeping him in the temple grounds, but I doubt I can hold him in any longer."

Arthuria nodded. "I see your point, Medea. Shall we proceed to what we have to do next?"

"I've been watching you all since the very beginning. The woman who attacked you at the harbor. Who is she?" She asked. "Not to pry into anything, but I have a feeling that she's not just another Magus who wanted to crash the party."

Sakura fidgeted in her seat, and her cousin pulled her into a comforting hug. The younger girl bit her lips, forcing her tears down before meeting the Servant in the eye. "We have our own guess, though I'm not sure whether it's correct or not. The woman...she might be my sister..."

Nobody missed the surprised look on the Servant's face. "Your sister? As in elder sister? But, aren't family arts normally passed down to the eldest child?"

"You don't remember?" The only male in the room asked.

Medea turned to him with a confused expression. "Remember what? Servants, even when summoned repeatedly, will not have their previous memories..."

"Not Lancer's case, though. And neither the rest of us. All of the summoned Servants remembered. Maybe you're a special case." Replied Bazett.

"I suppose. Then, shall we?"

Shirou cleared his throat. He decided to be the one to tell them the truth, as he knew Sakura would burst into tears if he let her onto the topic. "Long story short. Her sister was thought to die in the Holy Grail War ten years ago. And she had evidence that she had truly died, but now here she is, more powerful than ever, blasting people off their feet like some rag doll."

Medea mused, sipping her tea. "So, what does the rest of you think? Is she the Magus you all fought against?"

They shook their head. The Princess of the Colchis Dragon frowned. "Then, what's the hesitation? Kill her the next time you guys meet her. It's not like she cared about you guys anymore, family or not."

At that point, the youngest in the room burst into tears, and her Servant appeared in a shower of pink, worried about her Master. Medusa knelt down beside the Magus, hugging her but saying nothing. She was never good with words. But at the moment, even the European Magus was wordless, and was visibly anxious and not knowing what to do. Shirou too stroked the girl's hair, while Ferdinand and Bazett merely shot worried glances at the Magus.

"Nee-san..." The brunette sobbed, turning and pressing her head to Medusa. The lavender haired spirit held her tightly, conversing with her via telepathy, so none could hear what they were saying. The younger woman needed privacy after all.

 _What's wrong, Sakura? Please tell me._

 _It hurts..._ Sobbed the Magus, sniffing. _I don't even know what to do anymore. I don't know who she is. I don't know whether nee-san is still alive or not, and I really want to know..._

 _Sakura, listen, life is hard, I know that at least. Even if I'm remembered as a monster, at least I know how does it feel to lose one who is close to you..._

She shook her head, confusing her Servant. _No, it's not that we were ever close... I... I was sent away when I was young, and the only time she truly ever reached out to me was...was the time the letter arrived._

 _Then cherish whatever memories you had with her... No matter how trivial, cherish them. Because, if she is not Rin, then she's an enemy you'd need to eliminate at a point._

 _Rider..._

 _Hmm?_

 _Do you think, it reached her?_

She blinked. Then, she remembered the letter. _I think it did. Because sisterly love and bond can never be broken. She reached you from death, didn't she? Then, of course, yours will reach her._ Though she was doubtful about it, she didn't let it show.

Sakura sniffed against her,but said nothing else.

* * *

Waver seated himself on the couch and eyed Lorelei warily with one eye. The Queen was silent, and that wasn't anything good, especially when he had past experiences to boot. He dared not even sigh, least he angered the woman. So he just sat and mused about things. It was a good thing that Rider was not around, or he would definitely put the lord into deep mud.

"Waver..."She called.

The man immediately tensed and sat up straight, his eyes focused on the Queen. She opened her eyes, and he felt like being pierced by one of the Noble Phantasms from the Gate of Babylon. It was not even this terrifying when he faced the King of Heroes.

"Though I hate to admit this, I feel that I've underestimated the ritual in this backwater country." She said sullenly.

"My lady?" He asked, and immediately cursed himself for the folly.

She glared at him but said nothing to his outburst. "This ritual of theirs is a good piece of work. However, I fail to see how the system has been corrupted. Judging from what we've gone through so far, I have no reasons to believe that Zelretch."

Waver blinked. _Oh, so this is what she's talking about._ "To be honest, I myself found no irregularity in the previous war, as well as the one we're going through now. Perhaps the Wizard Marshal was pulling a prank. Knowing him, he's quite the odd one out, and he loves confusion and havoc. I wouldn't be surprised if all this turned out to be a fool's errand." He said with a shrug.

Lorelei pondered his words and sighed irritably. It was humiliating to be hearing the words of a third generation Magus, and a young lord at that. Waver might have been a survivor himself, but his personality had changed so much over the years she had trouble believing that he was the same wimp two decades ago. The man seemed to grow a lot from the two weeks experience than he ever did in his entire life, but he too had refused to return to the city at first. She had no choice but to resort to unorthodox methods to get the lord back here.

"Then are you proposing that we move in the course of action we've decided beforehand, without the slightest care of what else might stand in our way?" She asked, her voice in a monotone.

"Indeed. It will be unwise for us to act in any other way now, would it? Not to mention that you yourself decide to show up and settle everything once and for all."

His Mystic Code served tea, Earl Grey no doubt, then bowed and took its place at the corner of the room. Lorelei glanced at the said mercury with a raised eyebrow but took a sip of the tea nonetheless.

"I find it unbefitting that a lord like you can't purchase a homunculus to carry out some trivial tasks." She remarked coldly.

Waver snorted. "I kept the damn blob as my Mystic Code due to the continuous pestering from the Archibalds, as well as those from my wife. Reines seems to love the mercury more than anything, and that includes me. Though I do rely on it for a number of tasks, it no longer serves as my major Mystic Code. It'll be unbecoming of me of I fail to produce any of my own, would it?"

She pretended not to hear him. "The rest of those low-born have returned to their rooms no doubt, and I want to come up with a plan before those people decide to ruin everything..."

"Rider has yet to report, which I assume he's not facing many difficulties dealing with whatever you asked him too. However, I'm not happy with the fact that you're monopolizing my Servant without my consent." Waver replied with some irritation in his voice.

Again, the elder Magus chose to ignore the male. "I would've assumed that the three of them would be able to make things going before the week is over. I'm an impatient Magus, Waver, and I hate to wait long."

Waver gulped. Facing the Grail War, he could handle with no problem. Handling the King of Heroes, no problem as well. But facing the Vice Director, that was a completely different story. He tapped into his connection with Rider and heard the man's laughter over the link. He swore he would get deaf one of these days with the giant roaming around.

 _Rider, how are things coming up?_

Another series of laughter before the King of Conquerors answered his question. _Fine, boy. I gotta say, this is a great Assassin you've got. Unlike the one we encountered, eh?_

 _The hell..._ He muttered under his breath. _Rider, give me a report on those two once you get back. Can you guys get things done by dawn?_

 _Ah, that is not a problem,boy. The lass here is an expert on things. Reckon everything_ _will be done in another hour. See you by then, lad._

Waver closed their link and turned to face her. She was looking at him with a neutral gaze, but it sent shivers down his back nonetheless. "They're making great progress with whatever you sent them to finish. Now, can you please tell me what are you coming up with? I'd rather anger you than to regret not asking beforehand."

* * *

Arcueid Brunestud was not the type of person to get all sentimental on some piece of paper. But right now, her mind was on the letter hidden in her pocket. Not even Zelretch had known about its existence. And certainly not the girl who was supposed to be the recipient. Not to mention said girl seemed to undergo some major alchemy transmutation or something along the line.

Sometimes, she questioned herself about her actions in interfering the interaction between the sisters, but she never did understand why she took the letter away in the first place. Because Daphne wasn't told that she actually had a grave despite being alive and that her family had thought that she was dead.

No, they preferred to let the Magus make her own assumptions, and left her with her own thoughts concerning the matter. They had never raised the topic of her past life or her birth family, and neither did she inquired about them. Perhaps to the Magus, no matter who she used to be or who her family was, all those no longer matter to her.

Over the years, even with her somewhat disturbing health condition, she had built a name for herself in the Association, excelling well in her researches as a gem practitioner, and probably able to achieve the Second Magic in another decade or two. Under Zelretch's guidance, she had grown a lot when compared to what her birth family would have given her.

"I'm confused..."She said, musing aloud.

The letter she had with her was the one from Tohsaka Sakura. That day, she chanced to see the Magus and Servant. With the curiosity and boredom killing her, she had gone to inspect the grave they had just visited after they left. It was the same like any of the other graves in the cemetery.

The only thing which caught her attention was the family name. All three had the same family name. Then, she realized that it was the graves of her sister's parents and her own. She didn't know what to feel at the sight of her sister's tombstone.

There she was, back home, a healthy and very much alive Magus living under a completely different name. But here, she was just another dead soul to whoever that young woman was. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the sight. Then, she spotted the letter hidden within the bouquet of roses and picked it up.

Tohsaka Rin. That was the name of the recipient.

She knew what the name meant, and she knew who the young woman earlier was. Her grandfather had told her about Tohsaka Sakura, the only living family member of Tohsaka Rin. Arcueid was in dilemma. For the first time in centuries, she felt completely helpless.

She knew where Daphne's family was. She knew she was still looking and hoping that she would find Rin. But she knew that Daphne had said countless times that she wouldn't leave them no matter what. They were her family, her everything now.

But... Just how much of it was the truth? Daphne must've been hiding her feelings well over the years. No matter what, she would miss her birth family, even when she no longer remember any of them. The memory was so clear in Arcueid's mind.

The time when she was still unconscious and she was changing the girl's bandage. Daphne had grabbed her arm out of nowhere and began to apologize. Her hazy blue orbs staring at her in the face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

It hurt her seeing the child like that. Zelretch stood behind her at that time, silently watching the suffering girl in front of him. Her eyes, she noticed, they were full of despair and regret. There was so much regret in them she wondered what had broken the child before she was taken by the Grail.

" _Forgive me, Sakura. Please forgive nee-san for not saving you..."_

That was what the child had muttered for a few minutes before sinking back into the darkness, and Zelretch placed a hand on her shoulders, shaking his head.

"You know, don't you?" She had demanded, angry at him for keeping something like this from her.

He nodded slowly. "She sent a letter to me, requesting for assistance. I came for Nagato's sake, but I never knew the child would be this broken."

"Then I will care for her. I will nurse her back to health, make her smile." She stated as a matter of fact.

Arcueid broke out from her sudden flashback and took out the envelope. She sighed, still not knowing what to do. She passed Daphne's door and made up her mind. She crouched down, and slid the envelope through the slit under the door, then quickly stood up and left the place.

The White Princess left the suite. She needed to get some fresh air and brace her sister's wrath when she returned.

* * *

 **Behind the scenes...**

Lancer : You're having an affair?

Caster : No...

Lancer : Really? Then how come I heard rumors about you and Archer?

Caster : They're just rumors... It's just a misunderstanding... Which of course is probably...

Lancer : Probably what? True?

Caster : What's wrong with you?!

Lancer : What's wrong with me? Shouldn't I be the one to ask that question to you?

Caster : I told you already. They're just rumors...

Lancer : From now on, don't you ever talk to me!

Caster : Fine by me.

By : **Caster Medea Nightraven**

* * *

 **A/N**

There you guys go, the tenth chapter of my fic. Funny how time flies, and how I love the freedom that I have now, free from homework and exams.

So basically, another filler chapter after the fight, and a brief analysis of the Servants and Masters of the Red Faction. The Blue, not yet, as I have plans for them. I know, this chapter was quick boring, I admit I was bored when I came up with this, but I feel it's appropriate that they could consider the situation from every possible angle.

Anyways, thank you, my dear publisher and Beta, Sleeping Panda Rose, you're the best friend one could ask for, and this thing here wouldn't be able to progress without your help. To Caster, another wonderful BTS from you, thank you so much for the support, I really appreciate it.

To all of my supporters, whether you leave a review for me, or you silently supported this fic, I'm grateful for it. I wouldn't be able to make it this far without you guys. Let us uphold the Fate fandom, and take it to the next level.

All in all, thanks for reading, and leave me reviews if you can. They fuel my day, make me write faster, and your ideas are very much appreciated.

Till next time then. Have a nice week.


	11. Chapter 11

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

* * *

 **A/N** So this chapter was a partial collaboration with my publisher, SPR. She didn't really do any of the writing, but she gave me ideas for this, so I would like to thank her and Holix25 for inspiring this chapter. To all those who have been supporting me this far, thank you as well. I wouldn't have made it this far without you all.

I dedicate this chapter to Holix25 and Suzululu4moe for your constant supports. The two of you have been here from the early chapters. Thanks.

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

It was a long meeting. Grandfather and I had explored every single turn in this backwater ritual, yet we found that there were so many things which could just go wrong. That was how a real war was supposed to be like. If I wanted to keep my ass in one piece then I might as well hole up in London. Or even better, ask the damn woman who ruled the place to place a Sealing Designation on me so that I could be watched over like some baby. But of course, in reality, things didn't work that way.

Snorting at my stupid thoughts, I made my way back to my room to get some rest before going to work on my latest piece of "project". Then, I thought about my sister. Why did she just leave so suddenly in the middle of the meeting? Not that any of us minded, but she seemed to have something else on her mind. Oh well, I could ask her later when she returned. Not a big deal anyway.

Opening my room's door and stepping inside, I quickly closed the door and made my way towards the bed. A step forward, and I felt like I stepped on something. Bending down, I found an envelope, with the recipient bearing the name of Tohsaka Rin. I frowned at the item. How the hell did it get into the suite, let alone my room? I was sure that the bounded fields were working properly.

I took another look at the recipient. That name rang a bell in my head. The name, I remembered bringing it up in our discussion earlier. If I remember correctly, it was the name of the sister of that Tohsaka Master in this ritual. I picked it up, and tore open the envelope, taking out a few sheets of paper. Running a quick analysis, I found no spells on it which wold harm the reader, so I lay down on my bed and began to read it.

 _Dear nee-san,_

 _Actually, I have no idea on what I should write here. I mean, your letter came to me all those years ago, but I never knew what to write, nor do I know how I should reply to your words. You seemed so sure about your future, that the fight at the temple there was the end for you. When I read it, I was truly hoping that whatever you told me what untrue, that you and senpai would return the next morning, and I would be able to see the both of you at school._

 _But..._

 _I never did. What truly happened on that night lay buried with your death. Senpai never told me the details, merely that the Grail took you instead of him, and closed. I never saw you again, never received anything from you ever again. The only time you reached out to me after all those years of pushing me aside was also the last. I... I'm sorry. I never knew... I didn't know that we would never have to chance to call each other siblings anymore._

 _I never know. I never know what you were thinking. I never understood. I tried to understand, but I couldn't. Never have I felt that hopeless in my life. Receiving that piece of paper, after you have passed... ... I have so many stuff to ask you. So much to learn from you. But, now, I will never have the chance again._

 _Do you remember, nee-san? That you asked me, whether I hated you? I... I never had the chance to tell you what I truly felt through the years, because the war took away my world from me. I hope that at least now, you will be able to know. I believe that my words will find its own way to reach you, one way or another, just like how yours reached me. Because I really wanted you to know all these. We sisters have a lot of catching up to do, and I regret that it has to be done like this._

 _Nee-san, all those years ago, when we were still together, when oka-san and Kariya-ojisan was still with us, always smiling and watching over us, those were the days I cherished the most, it truly was. Playing in the park together, pulled pranks, watching oka-san and Kariya-ojisan blush as we made fun of them, it was fun. Or just napping on oka-san's lap, something as simple as that, was what the both of us loved the most. Those days were the ones when I would give up everything to have them back again._

 _Looking back at those days, I really wanted to go back to our simple lives, live like the sisters we are meant to be, never separated because of magic. Even better, I wish that we were never born into a family of Magus, and we could just live like any other mundane human. Because... I wanted you, I wanted a happy family, an ordinary life, and not the life I have now. Title, land, and power mean nothing if I can_ _'t have my family with me. I lost oka-san, Kariya-ojisan, and you, all to a war between Magus, wishing to attain their selfish goals. A ritual created to reach the Roots, yet now sunken so low._

 _But, it happened, no matter what. That day was the day I remember the clearest. Do you remember them as clearly as me? I turned, wanting to go back, but you stood there like a statue, motionless. Do you know how much I wanted to break free and run back to you? You didn't care, and that doused me in a pail of cold water. I broke, I truly did. Did I really mean so little to you? I really hated you and oka-san at that time, for leaving that man to go on with his plan with Zouken. I truly did._

 _Arriving at the Matou meant hell to me. Yes, you never knew what my training was like, not until I was completely defiled and gave up hope on everything. He threw me into the pit once I got there, and the creatures swarmed all over me, tearing away at my clothes, my flesh, and forcing their way into me from places a five-year-old shouldn_ _'t know. I was defiled at such a young age, by those worms which knew nothing at all. I cried, screamed, begged for mercy, but none came. I was left in the pit, with the worms forcing themselves into me, and before long, I gave up. What was the use? There was no one there to save me, except for those foul creatures and that old man._

 _That's when I told myself this. What did it mean anymore? No matter how much I screamed, it was the same. The old man would sneer at me, telling me to submit myself to the worms, that only through this I could become the true Matou heiress. But I knew he was lying at that time. I never was meant to be the heiress. I was a tool for him to reach his selfish goals. Do you know why I knew? The answer might come to you as a funny one. Children have their own ways to know when people are lying, and I knew._

 _So I decided my own fate back then. I gave up on everything that I had ever had in this world. It was just me and the worms. It was just Matou Sakura and the Crests Worms. There was no oka-san, no nee-san. I was alone. All by myself. Just me..._

 _But then, the light came back to my life. A few days into my so called_ _"training", Kariya-ojisan returned to the Matou, seeking my release. I knew he cared, but I never knew how far he would go. I guess that, he really did love oka-san very much. But, I knew Zouken would never let me go, and ojisan had fallen into his trap, but I said nothing. What was the worth of me voicing out anything? Nothing..._

 _I still remember that he waited until my training was done, and wrapped me up in warm blankets when I came up from the pit covered in slime and grime. He took me into his arms, and bathed me, clothed me, and stayed with me. In that moment of despair, he was my only hope. After that day, he was with me the whole time, enduring hell with me, always there for me. He of all people was there for me, nee-san. He, who was not bonded by blood to me. Yet he willingly sacrificed everything he had, returning to the place he had vowed to never return, only for me._

 _I ask you of this, nee-san. Where were you when I needed you the most? I can feel myself laughing at this stupid question. Who was the mighty Tohsaka Rin to actually pay attention to a girl she had never recognize as her sister? Who was I in her eyes to be cared about?_

 _In that one year, me and ojisan, we changed, for good or worse I never knew, but at least I know this. Ojisan was always the stronger one. Due to him pushing himself too hard, half of his body went limp, and his hair turned white. But I knew better. It was because of the worms in his body, just like the ones in me which changed the color of my hair and eyes. Yes, that was the reason I no longer carry any of the Tohsaka traits. And neither did he carry the Matou traits. And then this happened._

 _He gave me hope, nee-san. Something I dared not hope for._

 _He promised me back then when I gave up hope of ever seeing you again, that I would live the rest of my remaining days hating you more than anything else. He told me that he was leaving for a business trip for some time and that when he returned, he would take me far away from the Matou, back to you and oka-san, and we could play in the park like we used to. He did return from the trip, but... He never kept his promise. When he returned to the Matou manor, I didn't know what he was thinking in his final breath, but I knew the thoughts soothed him. He died in front of me and shattered all the hope that I clung onto. That little piece of hope called freedom._

 _It was then I turned cold. I believed that whoever wanted to help me would suffer the same fate like him, just like what happened to him. That's why I said nothing to you, even after all those years. Because I believe that that was what Zouken wanted me to see._

 _I endured everything, nee-san. Everything. For all those years, I endured hellish torments, hating you for not doing anything. Not even a word, not even a greeting. That was how cruel you were, and I hated you for all that. But I lived on, vowing that one day I will make you pay for all this. Believe me, nee-san, that when I suffered so much, I truly wanted you to take my place._

 _Evil, aren't I? I'm sorry, but as a girl who had long lost hope, that was what I turned into._

 _Then, the war. I don't know what I should say about it. When the Command Seals appeared, and I knew the significance it carried. I was thrilled. Because I was given the hope that perhaps I may have my revenge on Zouken, on you. I hated you, and I still do. I summoned Rider, whom I knew had a similar experience like me due to the bond we were sharing. In one way or another, I guess we understood each other more that we could ever understand ourselves. There she was, such an easy book to read, and I knew everything about her._

 _Rider... She thought she could save me. The poor kind woman just wanted to help a poor little girl to escape from her suffering, yet she endured more than what I had. In life, the gods betrayed her, and again, when she was given a second chance at things, as her Master, I too, betrayed her. I regretted not standing up to nii-san more. The way she looked at me, it was one of pure hatred. That must've been how I had hated you, nee-san._

 _With every fiber of my being, I hated everyone but senpai at that moment. All those who made me suffered so much. All those who left me to this horrible fate when they could_ _'ve saved me from it in the first place. Oh, how I hated everything, nee-san. The hatred was so deep, I never knew why I hated everything so much. I guess, it's because I once loved everything._

 _But then, everything changed. When the war ended, and you never return, everything inside me seemed to shatter there and then. I thought I hated you, but at the moment, I really feel like I wanted to join you in death, and we would be sisters again. Never will we be separated ever again. That night, after I received your letter, I cried myself to sleep._

 _The next morning, I woke up, and the pain of losing you hit me at full again, pushing me over the cliff again and again. The pain tore away at my heart. I never knew I still had it in me to cry like that. I thought I had lost all emotions when you betrayed me all those years ago. But back then, all I could do for you was to cry and lament over my lost, angry at you and myself for not reaching out to each other sooner. It wasn't your fault alone that you had to leave, and I had to live, with so many regrets in our heart we knew we would never have the chance to make amends._

 _Nii-san told me what happened. But I said nothing to him. He looked so broken and pale I couldn't even bring myself to hate him anymore, not even all those things he had done to me. He was too broken, and in time, he died due to the Grail, just like how you lost your life in the first place._

 _Nee-san, you were so kind, such an angel to me. Whether before we were separated, or when your letter arrived in my hands. In your letter, you knew about your faults, you knew what you've done to push your sister to hell, but never once you asked for my forgiveness. I had wondered for years. Why? Why at the end of your life, when you reached out to me, it wasn't to beg for forgiveness? Wasn_ _'t it to a happy reunion waiting for us at the end of the war? Why at the very end, you had to face everything alone? Why didn_ _'t you say something sooner? Why all that you asked from me was for me to visit oka-san's grave? Do you really hate yourself so much you don't even care for yourself? Why? Why the letter? Why was the content all just about your life? Why weren't you asking for forgiveness? I've yet to forgive you for leaving me alone again, and I never will. Why must you do this to me? Why wasn't me who was the one to make the first move? Why must you be the one to suffer after all this?_

 _These questions have tormented me for years, and I really wanted to know the answer to all this. I... I really wanted to know, nee-san. What were you thinking when you gave up everything which you had to me. What were you thinking when you put those words onto pieces of paper? What drove you to take such actions? I tried. I really tried to understand, just like what I had said earlier, but I never could understand you. Nee-san, in your final moments, what were you thinking? I could feel your regrets in your letter, that you had not wanted things to end the way it had ended. That you too had wanted a happy reunion._

 _None of us got that wish fulfilled._

 _You left us all behind. You left me, senpai, nii-san, and all those you had cared for and those who had cared for you behind, with nothing but those words. You sounded so fake, do you know that? I was laughing when the school idol sent the letter to me but broke after I read it. You seriously can't imagine what your fan club's reaction was at the news of your demise. Just like me, to them, the whole world just seemed to shatter down around them._

 _I feel like laughing at how fate had always tormented us. Is it not enough that we were separated for years? Why must fate tear us apart even more? All this is nothing but a farce. I wish to wake up, and all that had happened was just another dream. But it isn't. Every morning that I woke up to, the cold truth hit me again and again, until I could no longer feel. Until all that I feel is that this world was just another joke that God had forgotten to erase. Where's justice when we need it? Where's God when I needed him? I hate this world more than I hate you now, nee-san, because it took everything from me, everything..._

 _Nee-san, do you know how I had managed to survive all these years? Before you died, hatred and revenge had driven me to live on. Hatred to you all, my birth family, who left me to rot in hell when you all could_ _'ve saved me from it in the first place. Hatred towards the Matou for treating me like some sort of trash, defiling me over and over again with their filthy methods, those people were monsters, and even calling them so would shame the monsters, as some of them might not even be as malevolent as those two had been. Then, you gave me the salvation I had wanted all these years, and I had no more reason to hate._

 _Yes, the salvation I had craved for all these years had finally arrived, but it wasn't in the form that I had wanted. In order to gain it, you left me. But even if I don't accept it, you are still away from me. When Bazett first came to me, I didn't know what I should do. I was still recovering from the shock of your death. She found me in the corner of my room, the tears wet on my cheeks, my eyes red and swollen, mumbling things which made no sense to her or myself._

 _She pulled me into her arms and took me away. I never saw the old man I had called grandfather since then. We drove silently to your place, and senpai was waiting. Upon seeing his grim expression, I broke into tears again and clutched onto him as he comforted me. She looked at us, sorry for our loss, but said nothing of the matter. She guided us into your home, which was so lifeless with its owner dead, and I stepped forward and brought them up to our room. Our, such a beautiful word, but it no longer existed._

 _I found the box at the place which you had stated. The crest floated in it, so calm and soothing it was as if nothing bad has ever happened. Under the box was a pile of legal papers, which transferred all of your properties to me. I cried again at the sight. I had no ideas where the tears had come from, but I just sat there and cried like a baby, curling myself up into a ball and clutching the box close to me._

 _Realization hit me. That was all that I have left of you. The letter, the box, the memories. Those were the only items which could remind me of you. Those were the only things that could remind me that I once had a sister. That was the cold truth I had to embrace for the rest of my life, whether I like it or not. In my darkest moments, when I was at my weakest, only senpai and a complete stranger was there with me. I had wished for you to be with me at the darkest hours, but again the cruel fate had to do this to us? What have we wronged, nee-san, that the both of us had to bow our heads to such a path? I wanted you to stay with me, is that too much to ask?_

 _New resolution built in me from that moment onwards. The truth that my sister was no more, but never again will I stand and watch another family being torn apart by the Holy Grail War. With what you left for me, I vowed with the Tohsaka crest that I would end the ritual that took your life, and stop such tragedy from happening ever again. Even if I can no longer have you by my side, at least no more family would have to suffer such pain due to the ritual. No more tears, no more sadness. I wanted to end all this and bring a closure to your passing._

 _That's why I joined the Association, just like how you'd be if you were alive. I studied as hard as I could. All that was in my mind was to avenge you and to end the suffering. I pushed myself beyond my limits and kept pushing, hoping that one day, my powers would be enough to end things. I wanted power, not to conquer the word, but to end my suffering, my loss. I'm selfish, aren't I, nee-san? I'm not like you. You always loved to say this : 'the world is just another word for the things you value around you, right? If you ask me to rule such a world, then I already rule it.' The world meant nothing to you. All that you had cared for were the people and things you value around you._

 _You studied magic, but not for the sake of fame or power. You fight, only for the sake of winning, nothing else matters to you. But to me, magic matters because that was what bonded us together in the first place. I needed the same thing which took away your life to avenge you. Just how ironic can things get in this world? I wanted to laugh at this insanity, you know. I don't know how much longer can I stay sane because I had lost all that anchored me to this world. But thank you, nee-san, because just like you promised, Bazett-san was always there for me. And senpai too. They are still with me, now, always there to offer comfort and solace when I needed it._

 _But there's one resolution I'll never leave behind, that I will hold on to until my dying breath. That is, to avenge you._

 _Thus I trained. Nothing else mattered to me, as long as I have the power to avenge you, as long as I have the power needed to end this misery. As long as I have power, then everything is within my grasp. It felt like that to you, too, no? We, Magus, are a foolish bunch, believing that magic is the omnipotent tool in this world which can solve any kind of conflict. But we are wrong. Tokiomi ( I would never call him father) died because of it, oka-san, Kariya-ojisan died because of it, and you died because of it. I promise you, I would not make the same mistake anymore. I will live for it, for you, for those who has perished because of it._

 _I have to hold on. I will hold on. I must hold on, no matter what may arise in my future. Not for my sake, not for the sake of the Tohsaka name or crest, but you. Because, without you, I would never achieve what I am today. Without you , Tohsaka Sakura would never have risen from the ashes. For that, I_ _'m grateful._

 _For all these years, I've been wondering. Is my salvation really worth it? Was there a way for my salvation and your survival to occur at the same time? It's true that I wanted salvation, but I wanted you to be with me when I have it. Now, half of my wish is granted, and the other half would never be fulfilled, ever._

 _Nee-san, even with this salvation, I can't say that I don't longer hate you. I still do, because, no matter what, the scar the Tohsaka and Matou had caused me remains. I am still defiled. I am still not cleaned. That is a fact which is undeniable. Matou Sakura will live her life as a defiled girl. Even if I now carry the Tohsaka name, I was once the unfortunate girl left to suffer in the pit. I_ _'m sorry, nee-san. My hatred lingers, but the love I feel for you is more than the hatred now. I hope you understand that._

 _You asked me some questions in your letter, and I have all the answers to them now. Nee-san, not just you, I too had wondered how our life would be if we had lived together like real sisters. We would study together, go to the same school together, live together, play together, living the lives normal siblings should have. How happy we would've been. Even better if oka-san and ojisan are with us. Then, our days will surely be full and fun. All this would remain as a fantasy for me. They'll never be fulfilled. Because three of them had left the world, leaving a lonely little girl to endure everything on her own._

 _You asked this too, whether I have ever had a moment of clarity? I suppose no. I guess... this is something I only can experience on the verge of death. People usually think back about their past, their mistakes at the final moment of their lives. Because, that is the time they had to let everything go, whether they like it or not. You had to leave this world with regrets, but I don't know how much of it that you shoulder. Nee-san, I really want to know what were your thoughts in your final moments. I wanted to know what had you felt. Was it remorse? Anger? Fear?_

 _I want to know this too. Why? Why the letter? Why is it that all I received from you are pieces of paper? Why didn't you tell me all this yourself? I want to see you again, I want to press myself to you, and cry in your arms, and you would comfort me like a sister. Like I said, I still hate you, but I miss you very much too. I guess, you never knew what would happen to those whom you left behind in this world. I want to see you again, nee-san. I really do._

 _At the end of this letter, I finally understand why you chose to write instead of telling me yourself. There are times when the truth is best delivered in ink and paper, as we are unable to voice our thoughts, the words, they just seem to stick in your throat, making you choke on them. I guess, that was the reason you chose to end things like this._

 _The grave, there's nothing special about it, there never was. What is special about it is the person who rests there. The grave is not for the dead, but the living. This much I know after all these years I_ _'d spent abroad. I've seen too much tragedy to last me for life, and I don't wish to see any of it anymore. No more graves will be built because of misery. No more graves will be built because of this foolish ritual in Fuyuki._

 _Nee-san, I know I cannot bring you back anymore. But... At the very least I can still remember you, remember the days we had spent together, as if there was nothing in this world which could tear us apart, living our lives like the naive girls we were. At the very least, I can still cling onto those memories. You might not be of the world any longer, but I promise you that as long as I still breathe, as long as I heart still beats, then you shall be alive in my heart._

 _Thank you for everything, and may you finally find peace._

 _Your little sister,_

 _Tohsaka Sakura_

 _PS, nee-san, I really wanted to call you this with my own lips._

I threw the letter aside after reading it. My mind was filled with emotions that I couldn't comprehend. So many questions raced through my head, I had no idea which answers to seek out first. My gaze was glued to the canopy of my bed, but my mind was wandering, not knowing what to think.

If the recipient of the letter was who I thought it was, then the entire foundation of my world had just been torn apart. My beliefs for all these years were shattered beyond recognition. I wanted to laugh at this sheer madness. Everything that I had lived on all this time was a lie. A huge lie fabricated to comfort a lost little girl, who had lost everything to the mud.

My life, my family, my identity, my sanity.

I laughed out loud at the realization. The lie was right before me all this time, yet I had never seen through this lie. All these time, the two people I had trusted the most were betraying me the whole time. And my family was out there all this time, but they never told me the truth. Never. If the letter had not arrived, then perhaps the truth would never be known.

Suddenly all the dots connected in my mind. I had always wondered why were they so over protective about me. Saying things like I couldn't leave the manor or the hotel. The simple truth was that they didn't want me to meet my family. They didn't want me to know the truth. They wanted me to stay locked up, ignorant and just be a good pet dog.

I snorted at the thought. They were foolish to think that paper could hide fire.

But, who had sent the letter in the first place? ... Nevermind, I could sort things out later. Just thinking about all this was giving me a headache.

Tohsaka Sakura... I ran the name over my tongue and found out that the name was familiar to me. I guess that the letter wasn't bluffing after all. I picked the letter up, and stashed it away in my box, sealing it with blood magic. I didn't want anyone else to know that I know, yet. It was something that I needed time to think about, and now was definitely not the time to think about it.

I realized that the time had arrived for me to execute my plan for the night, but I had barely gotten any rest. Well, nevermind. I had more important matters to handle at the moment. My family, the truths, and lies could wait until all this stupidity was settled. I pulled myself off the bed and changed into my combat gear. A simple piece of a red blouse with dark pants, and elbow-high gloves. On my feet were a pair of knee high combat boots, with additional gems strapped to it for maximum power. The gloves were furnished in the same way. Five gems powering each glove.

Then, I put on my signature Mystic Code, Diamond Prism, and another identical bracelet, onto my other wrists. The other bracelet, though identical in appearance, was on a whole new level. I had managed to form the Jeweled Sword, albeit not complete, which the old man was so proud of, and ripped pieces off them before combining them with the gems. Now, they were able to siphon mana from other parallel universes for my own use. Of course, I didn't use it for direct combat.

I already had two Mystic Codes in which I would use for combat. That bracelet would only act as power source for something else. I picked up a diamond necklace and fastened it around my neck. My second Mystic Code. They had seen the power of my first weapon, hence it is wiser if I mobilized more of my power, but not all. It was still far too early to reveal my true power.

Sakura...

I didn't know why, but my mind kept drifting back to the girl. The way I had mocked her, hurt her and her allies, that must hurt the girl even more. More than what I'd done to her back when I was still... me. I sighed in resignation. It wasn't the time for this. If she really was my family, things could wait until after all this was finished.

And that man. The Servant in red and black armor with tanned skin and silver white hair. His gaze was so hurt when he saw me. Did I know him too? Who was I to him then? But, he's a Servant, right? Could I have known the man when he was still alive? Perhaps.

My head hurt just by thinking all this. I shook my head free of the thoughts before reaching for a vial and downed the contents. I closed my eyes and calmed my inner turmoil. I tried to tell myself to focus on the war, and not these petty things. Running a palm down my face, again I let out another sigh.

Looking at my reflection in the mirror, it was like looking at myself for the first time. It felt like looking at a complete stranger. I didn't even know what to think about myself now. This woman with long dark hair and streaks of white in it, sapphire eyes with a tint of ruby and flicker of the rainbow. Who was the woman staring right back at me?

Was that Tohsaka Rin? Daphne? Or a complete stranger?

A knock on my door broke me out from my reverie. A blond girl who looked younger than me entered the room with a soft smile. Her long hair was braided, and her eyes were of the color of amethyst, so pure and kind. She was dressed in her battle dress, a shade of matching color with silver armor as her breastplate and gauntlets. A sword strapped to her side.

"Milady, we are ready." She said softly, waiting for my reply.

I nodded, and stood up, drawing my cloak around me. She followed close behind me, closing the door behind us. "Let's go then, Ruler."

The Servant didn't utter another word as she accompanied me to the living room, where the rest of my troops were.

The seven of them bowed to me, and I waved, dismissing them into astral form. Mana surrounded Ruler, and she was clad in simple modern day clothing. White blouse, purple skirt, and black knee-high boots.

"Milady, our target?" Ruler asked.

I smiled. "Let's just go out and see who would we meet first, shall we?"

Verbally and telepathically, the eight of them answered as one.

"Yes, Master."

It may be a long night, but I would make it worth it.

* * *

Behind the scene...

Rin : Curse that witch.

Shirou : What witch?

Rin : Duh. Medea hime of course.

Shirou : Lol, don't "Duh" me. What did she do anyway?

Rin : More like what she didn't do. She promised me things, but till now, I've gotten nothing.

Shirou : Well, what stuff?

Rin : Nothing much. She forgot to charge my gems.

Shirou : And?

Rin : She forgot to reinforce me the last time we fought against the damn vampire.

Shirou : She does deserve some punishment.

Rin : No one can punish her except me.

Shirou : OK...

By : **Caster Medea Nightraven**

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 **A/N** Hey guys, I'm back with a few more words. Sakura's letter finally reached her. Oh my, not even I know what is going to happen next. Does anyone want to volunteer a guess? So Ruler finally showed up, and along with her Master. Did anyone of you see that coming? Let's see, we have a Standard-Bearer who Correctly Guides the Holy Grail War, paired up with "Daphne" of all people. Just great...

Anyway, please do let me know how was the chapter to you guys. Have a nice day. See you all next time.


	12. Chapter 12

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

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 **A/N** Hi guys. Sorry for the long wait, but I've been busy lately, and so is my publisher. Do forgive us for any inconvenience caused. Anyway, I want to tell you all how great you are. I must thank you all for making my target coming true. 44 reviews, and 22 followers, you all made my day. Please continue to fuel my story. Thanks.

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

The view from the building was simply breathtaking, to say the least. Though it wasn't the first time she had seen the night scenery of the city, it was still something refreshing for her, other than slipping out from the Fuyuki Hyatt without any notice, again. She sat down on a ventilation pipe and reinforced her eyes to get a better look at the Imperial Suite opposite the building she was currently on now. She could clearly see the Masters, and it seemed that they were having some misunderstanding between them too.

The cloaked Magus smirked at the sight of the Queen talking to a nobleman, the Lord El-Melloi II if what she remembered was right. A simple blob of mercury was well to a side, just like what she had seen yesterday during the clash between the two Factions. She knew it wasn't something to take on lightly, especially with its auto defense system.

A sudden headache hit her, causing her to groan, holding her head and swore. "Fuck, I forgot that I didn't rest... Goddamn it..."

"Master, does something ail you?" Asked the gentle voice of Ruler, who crouched down and laid a hand on her Master's shoulder.

Daphne looked up with tired eyes and smiled. "I'm fine. Just a headache."

"Do refrain from pushing yourself too hard. If you are unwell, it's advisable that you sit out from this. We are more than capable of handling things around here." She said, standing up.

"It's fine, really." She insisted, not wanting to miss the fight. "Parameter inspections?"

Ruler's expression turned serious. "As you had surmised, the enemy is taking refuge within the building. However, with the number of bystanders present, I had Assassin to employ some tactics as to move them out of the way."

She nodded. "What of the bounded fields?"

"No problem, Master. With my rank of Magic Resistance, it would be easy to break through their defense. Saber too shall pose no problem. From inside, we shall destroy the source of the bounded field, and grant entry to the rest of our ranks." She paused. " Berserker and Lancer will join us, and Caster will be providing cover from here. Archer will provide firepower from here as well, and serve as your guard should you wish to stay behind. Assassin, on the other hand, will act upon his own decision, as to maximize his powers. As for Rider, well, he's still sulking."

Once again, she nodded. Ruler was an exceptional Servant, not only her beauty, but her way of strategizing the war, and how her mind worked around things, it was something that human from the modern era can no longer accomplish. Daphne found herself deeply honored with the presence of this Heroic Spirit beside her, even when all this was still a stupidity to her.

"Master, will you let me know what is on your mind? I noticed that you had not been in peak condition ever since we left your chambers." She voiced her worries.

Daphne smiled at the concern. "I'm touched by your concern, but I'm fine." Seeing the look on her face, she quickly added. "I'll tell you after all this is over. How's that?"

Ruler nodded, then turned as smoke emerged from the hotel the enemies were in. Civilians were screaming and rushing out from the building, and one of the floors exploded, and more smoke, joined by chunks of concrete, erupted and rocketed into the sky. The concrete landed on the ground below, and more screams were heard from below. Ruler's face contorted at the sound, but she focused on the task before her.

"Assassin has sent his signal. Caster..." Ruler said in a monotone. She tried to avert attention from the cries and screams from below and trying her best to focus on the task at hand.

The said Servant, Caster had huge, rolling eyes and oily, glistening cheeks. He was tall, muscularly built, but not dressed as a knight due to the class he was summoned in. His garments were quite odd. A luxurious robe of ancient design; sanguineous scarlet patterns adorned the pitch black outfit. He donned an inky black cassock, and an evil aura reeled about it. He was further wrapped with a much-folded robe, decorated with luxurious latches made of precious metals. In one hand he held a book, with the skin made from that of a human, emanating a malevolent aura.

He bowed when Ruler called and smiled in a creepy way. "At your order, my saint." He muttered something while the book in his hands flipped through the pages, and a bounded field fell into place on the upper part of the building in which the enemy was in. Several more fell into place, preventing any sound, light or damage to be inflicted on the surrounding area.

With a brief nod from Ruler to her Master, the Servant leaped off the roof and pushed her feet against the side of the building she was on, rocketing her towards the building at tremendous speed. She crashed through the bounded field with ease and waited for Saber and Lancer to join her. Their enemies were a few floors beneath them anyway, so she could afford to wait. She turned back to the building her allies were on and nodded.

Saber, a handsome young man with quirky long hair combed to the back in a rough fashion. His face had the bold features of a hero, mainly due to the high bridge of his nose and his valiant eyebrow. His hard cut mouth marked him with a stoic air, but his eyes seemed to hide a quiet grief. He has a beauty spot like a grain of tear below his right eye, making his gaze even more brilliant and charming. He wore a dark teal outfit, with Celtic symbols along them. Two swords, one red and the other yellow, were strapped to his back.

However, this Servant chose a different approach. He nodded towards his Master, dematerialized and appeared next to Ruler, who had an annoyed expression.

"What?" The male asked, failing to understand the expression on the woman's face.

Ruler's eyebrow twitched at his question. "Nothing." _As if I'm telling me how I wish I could turn into astral form too._

Next to join them was Lancer. The woman, already summoned into this war as Saber of Red, was summoned as a Lancer as well. Their Master had chosen to summon the less famous side of King Arthur, wielder of Rhongomyniad, the Holy Spear. Much taller in than the summoned Saber of Red and different proportion. Dressed in silver armor and blue dress. Though the rest had yet to have any idea how a lady was able to swing that massive thing around as if it was nothing.

With a shout, mana erupted from all around her, and the wind intensified, nearly blowing them off the roof. Lancer launched herself off the roof, plummeting down. But the mana burst pushed her towards the building, and she pushed through the bounded field, crashing into a pillar beside Ruler. She stood up, dusted herself and looked around.

"Where's the enemy?" She asked.

Ruler gestured below. "Down below. Could you open a way for us?"

"With pleasure," Lancer replied, raising her lance, ready to throw it towards the ground.

 _Before you do that, Saber..._ Daphne's voice echoed in their heads.

"Master?" All three asked in confusion.

Her voice sounded in their heads again, this time with a little amusement. _By my Command Seals, I order you, fight like a Lancer..._

Ruler watched on with a neutral look. She already knew something like this would happen. When her Master had summoned all her Servants, she made sure that they would possess dual summoning tribute. Not Saber, Archer and Lancer too had the abilities as a Saber if needed. Hence, counting herself in, they already had four swordsmen on their side. She couldn't but admire her Master for her tactics. Almost all of their Servants had possessed dual summon attribute by now. But when she enhanced their abilities with a Command Seal, they became even more fearsome than they already were. Because she was forcing them to act and fight like what their legends were like.

But that left another unanswered question in the maiden's mind. Why summoning her Servants into weaker classes first, then forcing them to act in a more superior class? What was she truly planning? She had always thought it weird that someone like her Master, who viewed the war as a stupidity would take such measures to make sure she summoned Servants who were powerful in their own way. She might put things in a whole different direction, but Ruler knew she had started taking the war seriously. The prove was that she had planned this scouting mission.

Standing behind Daphne, a man known as the Hound of Chulainn was emitting bloodlust which could even be felt by Ruler and her party. The man was also summoned as Lancer of Red, but her Master preferred a man with an unlimited lust for a fight, hence by adding two more lines into the summoning ritual, she summoned him into the Berserker class. Another side of the formidable legend of the demigod.

Dressed in a dark blue armor revealing his naked chest and stomach, which was adorned with blood red tattoos. A hood was over his head, and his face too was covered in the runes. His armor had spike-like projections all over it, just like dragon claws strapped onto them, fatal on touch. He even had a tail, covered in the same spikes. In one hand was the demigod's signature red demonic spear. But the one in his hand was larger than the one which was wielded by Red Lancer. It too had spikes along its length making people wonder how he held the spear in hand.

With a loud venomous roar, the madman jumped into the night. His demonic red spear, which was more demonic than before, left his hand, soaring like a red missile through the night and into the suite Beowulf and the rest were in. Their eyes widened in shock before the madman emerged from the rubble, his lips curled into a bloodthirsty grin. He leaped forward, grabbing his spear and rocketed towards Beowulf.

Mordred appeared in a shower of red, and Clarent collided with the spear. The force behind the spear pushed her back, her heels grinding into the ground. She pulled Clarent back, dodging a swipe from him. He grinned, swishing his tail, catching the woman hard in an arm. She crashed into the sofa set, holding her injured arm. The spikes had punctured her gauntlets and damaged most of her left arm.

 _The hell?! Another of this madman?!_ She had no idea everyone in the room was thinking about the same thing.

She stood up in pain, Clarent in one hand. The man was unlike the man she had seen last night when they had assaulted the Red Faction. Sure, both were the same man, but the monster before her clearly held power on a completely different level. Just brute force alone was hard to counter, not to mention that he had Mad Enhancement, boosting every skill he had a rank higher.

Ruler frowned when she heard the chaos below. _Is Berserker on a rampage already? Did Master give the man full rein? Then I suppose we should join him._

With a nod from the Frenchwoman, Lancer brought her holy spear above her head and mana concentrated around her and the spear before she roared and drove the thing into the ground beneath her. The spear disappeared from sight. Judging from the sound, it was still moving through the stories. She jumped after her spear and was joined by Saber and Ruler.

The ceiling over the Blue Faction cracked, and a spear landed between a bewildered Mordred and a mad Berserker. A blonde followed, and gripped her spear, swinging it at the younger blonde. Mordred jumped away, shock etched on her features. She looked at her father, but this version of her father was more filled up like she was older than when she had last seen her.

"Father?" She blurted out, the pain in her arm momentarily forgotten.

The elder blonde turned to face her, spear in one hand. "Ah, Mordred. Nice seeing you again." She said before dodging a swing from Vlad, who had emerged along with his mist.

Ruler followed suit, and Saber landed beside her. Instead of his twin swords, he produced his two spears, Gae Dearg and Gae Buidhe. Nothing weird there, he was known as the first spear of Fianna, and he did receive a command from his Master earlier. With a deep frown, he lowered his center and launched forward, the longer spear jabbing at Caster, who had summoned familiars to fend the knight off.

Ruler looked around her, drawing her sword out, waiting for a chance to strike and take down the opponent. Though the act of taking one's life would cause a sour taste to rise in her throat, it was something she had to do no matter what. She answered the Magus' call, hence she should fulfill her end of the pact. She ran her gaze around the room, catching every detail of the Servants in the room, and report back to her Master later. Tonight's assault was just a scout. Her Master needed a proper strategy to end things in one go.

Meanwhile, on the building, Archer had been keeping watch on the enemies. A man in silver armor, just like any other typical knight. Around his shoulder was his cape, emblazoned with the symbol of the Round. His long, red hair moved ever so slightly in the night breeze. His gaze seemed so lonely and sad. A simple sword was strapped to his side, his other hand held his bow, which looked more like a harp in Daphne's opinion.

When Berserker landed in the room, he moved his fingers slightly, and invisible air blades fired from his bow, shattering the glass panels along the building. He would create a diversion for Caster, who would send in his army of those octopus-like things. His fingers continued to move, and more glass shattered in the distance. The octopus-like things too leaped off the building, and made their way towards the building, crowding themselves around the building, blocking any of them from exiting the building from the windows.

If it weren't for the bounded field, the mundane human below would think that the end of the world was here and that it was a sign from God. The debris plummeting downwards was stopped by another bounded field put up by Daphne, and the concrete disintegrated into dust. She watched on with an amused expression, but Archer could not fully comprehend what was on her mind.

"Tristan." She called, snapping the knight back to the real world.

He tore his gaze from the building. "Yes, milady?"

"Target enemy Servants." She ordered in a cold voice.

He was surprised, but said nothing to her. He turned back to the battlefield and trained his eyes on the scene, bow raised, ready to fulfill the orders given.

* * *

With another mad howl, the Servant of Insanity swung his barbed spear in a wide arc, and the petite swordswoman barely dodging the thing. She landed a distance from him, but Berserker lunged forward at a ferocious speed, his spear jabbing at her. She kept dodging them, but the protruding spikes were dealing damage to her armor and battle dress. She clucked her tongue, twisting to a side, and crashed an elbow into his face. Berserker roared in pain, bringing his spear back, but Mordred was already on the move, dodging under it, and slashed out with her sword.

Clarent grazed his toned abdomen, and he opened his eyes in rage and brought up a fist. Unable to dodge, she took the full brunt of the blow, denting her armor, breaking ribs. She coughed up blood, shaky on her legs, and he rushed forward again. This time, the two weapons clashed but stopped. Mordred had placed her sword between the spikes, putting them both in a stalemate position. Grabbing on to the sword, she swung her feet up, kicking his side.

Berserker grunted in pain, and his spiked tail lashed forward. An arrow embedded itself in the tail, and he howled in pain. She took the opportunity to pull her sword free and jump away, thanking Atalanta with a nod. The Chaste Huntress was then interrupted when several strands of her hair were cut off, and she glared murderously in the direction of Archer, who was as calm as ever, bow raised, but no arrows. She hissed at the sight, and fired off several arrows of her own, sailing through the air in the form of silver streaks. But he took them out. She saw his fingers moving, but there was no arrow.

"Hold your own fort!" She screamed towards the blonde knight in anger. "That knight is mine!" With that, she jumped out from the shattered window, climbing up the building to the top, still firing her arrows.

Modred narrowed her eyes at the distant bowman and was surprised by who she saw. That red hair, she would recognize it anywhere."Sir Tristan? First father, now you? What the hell are you doing... ARGHH!"

Her sentence was left unfinished because Berserker swung his spear at her the spikes driving deep into her body. Holding in the pain, she held her sword in one hand and used the other to try and free herself from the spear. The pain was excruciating, but she had to hold on for now. She wrapped a hand around the area along the spear which had no spikes and tried to push herself off. Unfortunately, the Servant had something else on his mind.

With a triumphant roar, he raised his spear high above his head and smashed it down into the floor with monstrous strength. She cried out in pain as the spike drove deeper into her. Blood spewed from her mouth and wounds, and her hold on Clarent was loosened, the sword falling to the ground with a metallic clatter. With both hands gripping onto the spear, she stared at the man who was looking right back at her with crimson eyes.

He again raised his spear, and she could feel the pain as the spikes begin to slide out from her body but plunged right back in when he smashed her into the ground. He continued the process a few times before twirling his spear around in circles, and Mordred took the chance to let go, crashing and rolling on the ground, grabbing onto Clarent as she went.

She got onto shaky knees and cursed at her wounds. Sparing a quick glance, she found that the Masters had all fled, including those two from the other suite. _Time to go all out, since they're not here..._ She grinned to herself, ignoring the pain, and took her stance.

Berserker took that as a challenge and lunged forward with another bloodthirsty howl, and she let herself smile at the sight of the insane warrior.

* * *

Daphne continued to watch the fight with a bored expression. Beside her, Archer was trading blows with the enemy Archer, and neither of them had the upper hand. Despite Archer's arrows were invisible air blades, the woman was able to counter them perfectly. Though something like that usually piques her interest, she wasn't in the mood for such things now. She was tired, but there was something else on her mind.

Her mind was still on the letter. The thought that she still had a sister out there was comforting and fearful at the same time. Comforting because she knew that her blood family was still out there, still looking for her, which meant that she might have a chance to have a happy reunion at the end of everything. On the other hand, her sister, her blood sister was in the war as well. She had tried to kill her own sister in cold blood, and there was no guarantee that she would not be hurt in the war. At least not by her hands.

"Something on your mind?" Archer asked, his eyes still on the enemy. More arrows shattered, and he narrowed his eyes at the enemy. "If you do, then I advise you to put them aside. This is not the time and place for petty thoughts."

She snorted at his remark. She knew he wasn't being insulting, but hearing this from a man who was supposed to act as a puppet was still annoying. She brushed his words aside and joined Caster, who had his big rolling eyes focused on an observation orb.

"Oh, my saint, my holy virgin..." The man murmured, tears trickling down his oily cheeks.

Daphne looked on with a disgusted expression. Now she knew why Ruler was so against it when she had wanted to summon Gilles-de-Rais. It was pure agony to anyone who was looking at him now. He was crying at the sight of Ruler. Who would know how distorted his mind truly was? She was already creeped out by him, and he had yet to show his true colors. She shook her head, trying to get the image of his crying face out from her mind. She had enough things on her mind, and she didn't need him to make her headache even worse.

"Milady," Archer called once more. She turned to him, but he wasn't looking at her at all. His action was starting to piss her off, but she chose to let things slip for now. She could reprimand him all she wanted after tonight's ruckus.

"What?" She asked bluntly.

"If you will, milady..." He said, turning to meet her gaze. "...please leave this place at once. It's dangerous for you to remain here."

Daphne snorted at his words. She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him crossly. Archer was still staring at her, and Caster's familiars were throwing themselves into the way of the projectiles. Her lips twitched ever so slightly, as Diamond Prism began to glow.

"Do not underestimate a Magus, Sir Tristan." She said, a little mockery in her voice, enjoying the expression he put on when she called him by his True Name. "We can do more than casting petty little spells, and fighting from the sidelines."

As if heeding its master's call, Diamond Prism glowed once more before the gems detached, hovering in front of her in a hexagon form. Mana began to gather in the magic circle in front of the construct, and faint bluish white light illuminated them. The light orb decreased in size before expanding, blasting its way through the building, and took off the top half of the building, concrete and furniture falling to the ground below.

Terrified screams were heard from below, but she paid no heed to them as another blast tore its way into the building once more, missing the battleground, though all of them could feel the heat from the blast. Atalanta by then had leaped off onto another building, avoiding the deadly beams.

Archer and Caster watched the Magus' cold expression as the gems moved to form two constructs, and one blasted beams in Atalanta's direction, earning angry yells from the huntress before she took off into the night, putting as much distance as she could from the dangerous woman. Archer blinked in surprise at her Master's behavior but remained silent as to not further anger her. Caster, on the other hand, turned back to the orb, his tears trickling down his cheeks again.

Reinforcing her sight, she saw the Masters retreating down the elevator, and aimed a beam at them. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed that there was only four of them, but fired nonetheless. The beam never reached them, though.

A flying chariot pulled by two Divine Bulls emerged, taking the hit. The beast let out a howl, and circled the building, picking up Waver and Lorelei, who jumped beside Iskandar. She cursed in German and moved the two constructs to fire at them. On terms of Magic Resistance, the giant was no match for her, but his Noble Phantasm, that was a completely different story.

"ARCHER!" She yelled, pointing at the chariot. "Take that down!"

Archer nodded, and pulled the string on his bow, aiming for the chariot. The charioteer grinned, and whipped his bulls, lightning crackling all over them, and accelerated. The knight lets go of his finger, and air blades rocketed forward, invisible to the naked eye. He watched the enemy, as he felt his projectiles getting closer and closer.

Then it happened. Waver emptied a metal canister, and the contents grew to become a mercury blob, which again changed shape, forming a shield in front of the chariot. Archer pursed his lips firing more of his arrows, but none hit them. Caster had also stepped forward, his demon-like creatures wrapping themselves around the bulls.

Iskandar raised his sword and slashed at the tentacles. The more he cut down, the faster they regenerated, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. His Master, Waver was directing Volumen Hydragyrum to counter the attack as well, but the creatures stuck onto the chariot like glue, and the bulls were stomping their hoofs in mid-air, lighting crackling, and frying some of them.

"Oh, my holy virgin, my Jeanne." He wailed into the night, clutching his spell book and pulling his hair. "Do you see this? Do you see this? I, Gilles-de-Rais dedicate this performance to you, to you!"

Archer and Daphne looked on with a horrified look. The man's obsession with Ruler was certainly beyond imagination. The only consolation for them was that as long as Ruler was still around, then he would serve them, fight alongside them without a single question.

"Take them out, Archer." She ordered. "This may be a scouting mission, but it'd be better if I can wipe a few out tonight."

The knight nodded, and focused on his enemy. "As you wish, milady."

Back inside, Ruler and Saber were pushing Vlad and Shakespeare off. A mist had developed around them, giving an advantage to Vlad. Saber chose to deal with Vlad, while Ruler pressed forward, facing Shakespeare, who was saying things from his play which made no sense to the Frenchwoman trying to cut him in half, actually, she was just trying to immobilize him. It was enough for the poor lady to listen to Caster's rumbling, now another psycho seemed to make his way into her life, which totally ruined what she had in mind.

"Oh, my good lady..." He was saying as he dodged another slash from the flushed woman. "...do you know of the tragic love story between Romeo and Juliet? Oh, the poor couple, how God had treated them..."

She gritted her teeth, her sword slicing through his garment, tearing a sleeve down. He stared at the piece of cloth and sighed, shaking his head like a sad man. "Dear me, what a waste. A lady like you shouldn't be wielding such a dangerous weapon."

"The Lord sends his order, and I answered his call!" Ruler shot back, rocketing towards him, and the playwright flipped through his book, bringing out more characters to block his path.

"Say, my good lady. Please enjoy my show..." He said with a smile, standing like a perfect gentleman at the other side of the room, not paying heed to the commotion happening all around him.

Ruler swung her sword in a wide arc, cutting three of them down, then stabbed it to her back, and a scream howled in her ears. She momentarily retorted but quickly forced herself to think of them as wraiths, something she should eliminate, and not pity. However, the knowledge that she had just taken several lives left a sour taste in her throat. She pushed the emotions down and turned to her enemies.

Another swing and more fell down with inhuman screams. Shakespeare was watching with a sad expression on his face, and he was shaking his head at the sight, clearly displeased with what she was doing to his magnificent work. He opened his eyes, sadness clear in his eyes, as he opened his book and wagged his finger at the Frenchwoman.

"Dear me, young lady. Please do refrain from destroying my art. Even if you can't find it in you to love them, do not hurt them..."

"Fight me like the man you are, Caster!" She yelled at him.

He shook his head again. "It seems that you have yet to understand, that a playwright will only watch how his play will proceed, but he will never participate in them."

"You..." With anger boiling in her, she launched forward once more. _It may be true that I dislike taking the lives of others, but I will not stand people who refuse to face their fate! And someone like him, a lunatic, deserves to be put down._

* * *

Saber, known in life as Diarmuid Ua Duibne, the first spear of Fianna, traded his two swords for the spears. Even if he was summoned as a Saber, he still preferred his lances, as they were what made him famous enough to ascend the throne in the first place. Besides, even his Master had wanted him to fight as a Lancer. To the man, he felt that his Master had known his true strength from the very beginning, before summoning him.

"You fight like a spearman. Are you not a Saber?" Vlad asked coldly, swirling his own lance.

He smiled at the question. "As a knight, I should tell you my name. However, the rules of this contest forbid us from doing such things. Hence, allow me to apologize for my poor manners. Even so, I can tell you, my true class. I was summoned as a Saber, but I'm more proficient with spears."

He nodded, and said nothing after that, lunging forward and jabbing his lance at his face. The knight jumped away, nimbly dodging the blows as he too raised his lances in a counter attack, grazing the enemy's cheek. Vlad pressed a thumb to his injury but said nothing. He merely stood there, watching and studying the man standing before him with curiosity. Saber fidgeted slightly, not enjoying the expression the man was putting on.

"What are you looking at?" Asked the knight, a little annoyed at being stared down.

"Nothing of your concern." He answered shortly.

Saber took that as a challenge, and swung his spears around him, stepping and pushing himself off the ground. Gae Buidhe emanated an aura, and Vlad's eyes widened in shock before stepping aside, but the Servant had already taken off his left arm, a little below the elbow. The severed appendage fell with a sickening thud to the ground, and blood fountained from his wound.

The vampire glared at the back of the man who injured him, his crimson eyes glowing malevolently. He hissed in pain, grabbing his stump and bared his canines. Saber stood up to his full height and turned to face the undead and his piercing gaze.

"You dare to spill the blood of the first Undead?!" He hissed in a low voice.

Saber shrugged his comment off as if it was nothing. "As a knight, I cannot allow an existence like you. However, there is another reason why I have to defeat you. As a knight, I swear on my oath to serve my Master until the very end."

Vlad hissed in anger, and the mist thickened, hiding his form. Blinded from his enemy's sight, he allowed himself to shapeshift into a man better known to the world. One that was shaped after his own legend, but surpassed him in every aspect. The vampire that was better known in the modern world as the King of Vampires. His own legend paled in comparison to the man. Vlad had to acknowledge the man's powers, however, reluctant he was.

The vampire called Dracula.

"They say I'm an overpowered Lancer..." His voice echoed around the knight. "Let's see how true that claim is, shall we, knight?"

Saber smirked in response, not intimidated by the enemy Lancer. "En Garde."

* * *

Caster was pulling his hair in rage, seething at the sight unfolding before his huge rolling eyes. Gilles-de-Rais was not someone to be defeated easily, not with a spellbook that was able to replenish its own mana reserves. But right now, his demons were being run through like some bush by the divine chariot. Those which survived the massacre were cut down by the lord's mercury, the rest by the Servant's nameless sword, even more, was cut down by the woman.

"How could this happen?!" The warlock howled in rage, pulling off strands of hair, his sharp fingernails pointing at the flying chariot. "You, someone with such low Magic Resistance, and two...human! How could you depreciate my art like that?!"

With another angry cry from the Servant of the Spell, he launched more of his "pets" into the night, only to get cut down by the enemy forces. He continued to howl in a childish manner, and even Daphne was too sick at the sight to actually say anything to the man.

Archer narrowed his eyes in frustration at the chariot in front of him but said nothing to his ally's outburst. It was almost impossible to hit them with his invisible wind blades now since the brown-haired woman was able to sense his attacks somehow. He had yet to display his full powers, but just like what his Master had told them before they came out, tonight's mission was to scout the enemy faction. It would be foolish to let the enemies know about their strength before the time was right. He strung his bow and took a step backward.

Sparing a glance at his Master, he saw that her lips were pressed into a thin line and that her face was paling, and her Mystic Code wasn't working in peak condition. She kept missing her targets, and on top of things, her gaze seemed unfocused, as if she wasn't there in person with them, that her mind had wandered off somewhere.

Iskandar's chariot continued to press forward, and the brown haired woman leaped off the chariot, landing gracefully on the rooftop, while her allies sped into the night once more. With one swift movement, before any of the Servants could do anything, Lorelei smashed her gauntlet into Daphne's torso, who fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, her Mystic Code returning to their default condition.

She wheezed, and clutched her swollen chest. The hit probably fractured a few ribs, but it was nothing to her, at least on other days. Tonight, however, her mind was occupied with other things, and she had not even had a wink before she threw herself into the mission tonight. Rising with some difficulty, she stood up and faced the woman, who had drawn out her sword.

"Fighting an unarmed lady?" She asked mockingly.

Lorelei didn't seem to care as she propelled forward, with the wind element boosting her speed. Before she could reach Daphne, she abruptly twisted in mid-air, barely avoiding the wind blades Archer fired at her. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the interference, but said nothing more. She focused on the woman before her. As long she took off her arm with the Command Seals, then it wouldn't be a problem to her. The only problem was, she didn't seem to see any sort of Command Seals on her exposed limbs.

Daphne reinforced her body, opting to use instincts to dodge whatever the Queen had in store for her. Diamond Prism was useless against them, as Waver would sure to interfere with his own Mystic Code. She decided to leave the lord to her two puppets, as they were more than enough to stall time for her to get away from Lorelei, and not get herself killed in the process of doing so.

She clucked her tongue in frustration. _Running away from her wouldn't be easy. Shit, why did I even agree to summon a Servant of my own in the first place? Just because some stupid mark appeared on my hand doesn'_ _t make me one of you people..._

She jumped as far away as she could on the first chance, pulling distance between them and chanted a spell, a bolt of fire erupting from her hands, taking the shapes of swallows, and charged towards the elder woman. With a slash from her sword, wind blades formed and cut through the swallows, missing Daphne's head by mere inches. She smiled and moved her fingers, and the flames reunited, smashing against her gauntlet.

The force pushed Lorelei back, but her wind magic enabled her to quickly closing the distance. Daphne smiled again, channeling mana through her own crest, one that she had developed over the years, reached into their mysteries and pulled one out. A pillar of stone and concrete rose from the roof, blocking her way before pillars of fire shot up from where she was standing. Lorelei jumped to a side, eyebrow raised at the sight, before more walls were raised around her. She leaped onto one of the pillars and lunged forward, sword raised for her head.

Daphne inwardly cursed at the sight. _She might be using the simplest among the wind spells, but in terms of experience, she had more of them when compared to me. Shit, I need to bail out from her._ She chanted another spell, and gathered the water particles in the air, forming a ball of water, compressing them, and threw the thing at Lorelei. Before it hit her, Daphne had sent a fire based spell after her attack, and the heat vaporized the water upon impact, where steam covered their sight. Lorelei raised her sword in a defensive stance, ready for the attack.

But the younger girl had something else on her mind. Instead of charging right in and take the slim chance of defeating Lorelei, she quickly dodged to a side and jumped off the building. Feeling the wind buffeting her body, she summoned the said element to help her in her landing and dashed into a dark alley before finally coming to a full stop.

 _Damn, I completely forgot I still have an ace on my gloves and boots... Shit, I need some rest and lay low for a couple of days before trying anything stupid like this._

She supported herself against the wall, panting heavily. Blood dripped from her mouth, and she could feel the fractured ends of her ribs driving into her lungs, and blood accumulating in them, suffocating her. Raising a shaking hand, she closed her eyes, and one of her Command Seals flared before her Servant Assassin appeared beside her.

The man, covered in a red hood and silver armour, with various types of weapons strapped to his belt, ranging from guns to knives, and even grenades. He held her steady before the space around them twisted, teleporting them back to her rooms, as commanded. Then, she gladly welcomed the darkness once more.

Back on the roof, Lorelei sheathed her sword and jumped back onto the chariot once it was close enough. Lord El-Melloi raised an eyebrow at her but kept his question to himself. The chariot made a sharp turn, nearly throwing them both off the thing. Waver glared at the giant, who grinned at him before thundering away from the building.

The enemy arrows had ceased by now, but they could still see the knight holding his bow, his eyes never leaving them. A little distance behind him was Caster, who was still pulling at his own hair and shouting curses at them. Rider smiled, and pat his Master on the back so hard he almost hit the wind out of him.

"Had any fun?" He asked in his usual jovial tone. "After all, I did buy time for those rascals to scamper off, just like what you told me to."

Waver snorted as Volumen Hydragyrum returned to its cylindrical canister. "Worst night ever. To think we just attacked the Red last night, now the Ruler Faction are seeking us out too..."

"Do you think they might be allied?" Rider asked once more, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

Before Waver could answer, surprisingly Lorelei decided to speak up. As usual, her voice was a monotone. "I don't think so. The Oriental, despite strong, was not fighting me with her full strength. I have the reason to believe that it was a scouting mission."

"Then, shouldn't she be pulling her forces out by now?" Waver asked, pointing to the hotel they had stayed in, where large chunks of debris were still falling out. He narrowed his eyes and saw Atalanta jumping back into the building through a broken window. "Should we help them?"

Lorelei remained passive. "If this really was a scouting mission, I would advise against that. Nothing good comes out from showing both the enemy now, and our current allies our true power."

"I gotta agree with the lass here, boy..." He said with a smirk.

Waver flushed at being called a boy and refused to say anything to the giant on their way to their second base to group up with the rest of the faction. Lorelei, as usual, remained silent the whole way back, not saying anything even when Rider attempted to have a conversation with her.

 _This is going to be a long night..._

* * *

Ruler was the first to notice that her Master had left the battlefield with the help of Assassin, and both Archer and Caster had joined them after making sure their Master had safely left the battlefield. With his demonic apparitions, Caster brought the two of them forward, and Archer fired arrows at the enemy Archer, the huntress hissing in anger at kept being interrupted.

Caster mumbled a word under his breath, and more of the monsters emerged from the bloody mist covering the room and threw themselves onto the enemies. They wrapped their long, sticky tentacles around the Heroic Spirits, and their gruesome mouth trying to devour them. Vlad raised his spear and cut through them, quickly dematerializing before any of them could catch him once more. He glanced back once at the "Saber" he had fought and grinned.

"Till next time, Saber."

Shakespeare was letting out a sound between a squeak and sob, as more of his characters came to live, holding them off while he made a hasty retreat. However, before he could get away fast enough, Ruler had lunged forward, her sword slashing his back. The playwright fell face first, and got up, looking at the woman who raised her sword high, ready to take out his life. He watched the sword as it descended, and murmured things about how he regretted not being able to write another play for the world.

But, a silver streak sailed over the room, and a shaft embedded itself through the woman's shoulder. Ruler let out a grunt, but the momentary pause in her movement bought time for the man to disappear into astral form and disappear. She watched the man disappearing and turned to Atalanta, who had returned to trading arrows with Archer.

Berserker had done damage to the enemy Saber, as proven by her limp arm hanging on one side of her body. Mordred's armor was dented and scratched, while Berserker remained unharmed. The madman furiously pushed Mordred back, the petite blond staggering backward unsteadily. Berserker swung his demonic spear, and cut through her armor, sending her stumbling backward, and falling out from the window.

The said swordsman plummeted downwards. For a moment her mind was a complete blank, but as soon her mind cleared, she quickly stabbed her sword into the building. Her descending speed was too great. Even with the legendary sword serving as a brake, she continued to fall for a distance before finally coming to a halt. Planting two feet against the ground, she pushed herself outwards in a wide arc, then swung back in, the force shattering the windows, and she landed in the room, pulling her sword out as she went.

She picked herself up and put the sword back into its scabbard. That proved to be a mistake as several seconds later, Lancer broke through the ceiling, the holy spear pointed at her. She was bored, as she didn't find anyone worthy to fight her, and her wayward son was taken by the demigod. Now, she saw her chance and quickly jumped in. Mordred quickly jumped aside, avoiding the blow. With a smile, Lancer let her spear plunged into the floor, and gripped the hilt with both her hands, kicking her leg out, hitting her son square in the chin.

Mordred pulled out her sword and slashed at her father, who easily ducked under her arm, elbowing her hard in the chest, denting her armor even further. Another kick to the ribs sent the knight crashing into a cupboard, and pieces of china falling down and shattered. She coughed out a little blood and watched as Lancer pulled out her spear, ready to deliver the final blow.

 _Is this, is this how everything who end? How ironic, that no matter which version of her that stands before me, the only objective was to kill me..._

Ruler jumped down from the hole in the ceiling, and her sword raised to stop the spear. The two weapons clashed, metal sparks flew off the surfaces. Lancer looked as surprised as Saber was, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Are you betraying Master?" Lancer asked, putting more force onto her spear.

Ruler shook her head. "No. My allegiance lies with milady. I will not betray her."

"Then why?"

"Because this is just a scouting mission. I refuse to let you take away her life." She said, her voice flat. "More ever, she's your son."

Lancer's eyes widened in anger. "Are you insane?! She's an enemy we have to defeat, even if she is my son, I have to kill her. Even if tonight was meant to be a scouting mission, why not weaken the enemy forces when we have the chance?"

"I will not allow this to happen." Ruler said, her voice not leaving any choice for negotiation. Amethyst eyes met a pair of emerald ones, and the two refused to bow to the other. Finally, Lancer tore away her gaze.

Lancer grunted, and kicked her ally, her spear raised.

"By the power of the Holy Grail, by the rights bestowed upon the Servant Ruler, I command Arthuria Pendragon of the Lancer class to halt and listen to my orders. Don't attack Blue Saber."

A ripple of energy swept across the room, and Ruler could feel one of the Command Seals hidden by her armor flashing and disappearing. Lancer's face contorted in rage at the use of a Command Seal. She tried to defy the power of the Seal, while Ruler turned to Modred, and nodded at her. The knight returned the gesture before disappearing into a shower of red.

Lancer glared at Ruler, who didn't even look her way once. "Let's return. Milady's waiting."

"I'll see how you answer to her later." She said with some distaste in her voice.

* * *

 **A/N**

More rambling from me before I pull the curtains down for this year. I regret to say this, but this will be the final chapter that I will be posting for this year. Even next year, I think updates will be slow, as my publisher and I will be working our ass off to get a good result in our finals, securing a place in a university. I'm sorry guys, for those who love and are following this story, but reality calls, and we have to answer to them as well.

To everyone and anyone who is reading this, I thank you all for taking time off to read this little story of mine, favorited, followed and reviewed the story. You all have shown me a great year, and I can't thank you all more for all that you've given to me.

Anyways, do leave me reviews, suggestion, and whatever you think of the story to help me improve this story. I appreciate every single word I receive, and gladly answer every single one of you. Do fuel my story, as you all are the ones who are making this moving beside me and my publisher.

Last but not least, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll see you all again next year. Till next time, Tohsaka Rin, peacing out.


	13. Chapter 13

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

* * *

 **A/N** Hi guys, I'm finally back with an update after a long one month. Thank you for staying patient with me. Thank you for all your support as well. So, this is not the only update I'm doing. About the same time, my other fic, Altered Kaleidoscope will be updated as well, by my beloved friend and publisher, **SPR.**

Enough rambling from my part, on with the story.

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

"Back already? How did things go?" Asked the Master of Assassin as she watched Waver and Lorelei stepped into the room. Her tone carried some amusement in it, which meant she might have seen some parts of the fight, but decided to just sit back and enjoy the show, instead of helping them.

Lorelei sat down on the couch without another word. "Is that how you greet people? Your manners are certainly lacking if that's the case." She said in her usual monotone but didn't reprimand her. Although she was annoyed by her attitude, she knew better than to force her to act polite.

The Magus brushed the comment aside, clearly not minding it, and smiled. A woman in her early thirties, skilled in weaponry, as in modern weaponry, but her skills as a Magus remained unknown, even to the Association. Much like the Magus Killer, she preferred the use of modern weaponry when compared to thaumaturgy, but the Queen decided to ignore that for now. Long blond hair with olive green eyes and slightly dark skin, clad in simple black attire, and a coat over it with reinforcement magic working the whole time. It even had a pocket which connects to a space she created to store her weapons and Mystic Codes, not that she would let anyone know of course.

"Now, now no use getting so worked up now, Barthomeloi..." She said calmly, while the Lord looked on at the exchange with a choking expression. She kind of enjoys the sight but decided not to show it, least she anger the Queen even further.

"You did finish what I want you to do, right?" Lorelei got straight to the point.

Miranda Slovov nodded. "Indeed, with the help from Assassin and Rider, things went on quite smoothly, especially when the fight caught the attention of all the participants present. None of them paid any extra attention to what I had been doing, not with all the fighting happening."

"Good, and?"

She frowned. "It's just like what you said. For the past two centuries, the system remained dormant, though its inner energy continued to peak. I am sure that the energy will soon burst through whatever barrier or container they had set up to contain it. When that happens, things would turn catastrophic. Given what the young Emiya had told you, and my own findings, I have to say that Zelretch might be speaking the truth for once."

Lorelei too frowned at what she told her. Waver was getting more confused by the moment. Silence descended on the group, but Waver decided to break it first. He cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention, before asking his question.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Remember what the old vampire had told me? That the Holy Grail is corrupted?" A nod from the Lord. "Well, it seems that for once, he isn't lying about things. The great fire at the end of the war was caused by the Holy Grail when its contents were spilled."

"How the hell did you even find out about this?" Waver demanded, eyes boring into Miranda.

She shrugged, not intimidated by him. "I have my own methods, and I prefer to keep them a secret. A secret makes a woman, woman. Don't you keep yours as well, Lord El-Melloi?" She asked as a matter of factly.

The lord coughed, not wanting to answer her question because he knew how right she was, even if she was just a Spellcaster instead of a full-fledged Magus. After all, he had no rights to say things about others, and how they view the world of magic. He just had to make sure the Archibalds had a solid reason not to kill him, and Reines had no reason to divorce him or put him under a permanent geis.

"What do you wish to do next?" The mercenary asked.

Loreloi contemplated her choices, running simulations in her mind before leaning forward in her seat to let the two know. After they heard what she had in mind, the two were so shocked that her words left them with open mouths.

 _So even the great Barthomeloi has her own weak moments..._ The other two thought in their minds, as they share a look.

* * *

 _A beautiful park, with the greenery covering the place, and the birds chirping merrily in the trees, bees, and butterflies dancing over the flowerbeds, and children running over the place, playing while their parents sat under the shades, watching over them._

 _I was trapped in the body of a little girl. No matter how much I tried to move, my body refused to obey my command. It was as if, this was a memory, and I was the tourist, taking a stroll through it._

 _A little girl, with short, dark hair and sea blue eyes tugged at my hand, urging me to follow her. Her smile was so beautiful, I remember telling myself that it was something I had to protect with my life, no matter what. I laughed, running after her, and up to a woman with long hair, her smile gentle. She ran up to the woman, throwing herself into her arms, and smiled as she nuzzled up to the warmth._

" _Nee-san, come." The little girl said to me._

 _I smiled, and walked up to them, sitting beside them. The woman, our mother, draped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against her._

 _The feeling of being able to be with my family, it was something I had not felt in years, not even with them. No matter how much they had cared for me, it could never beat the love of a mother to her child. To her, I was special, and so was my sister. Nothing in the world could change that._

 _A man with dark brown hair walked up to us, and both Sakura and I shared a gaze before nodding in agreement. The two of us jumped up and tackled Kariya-ojisan to the ground. The man laughed, trying to sit up, and the both of us weighed him down. Mother tried to help him, but we tickled him till he gave up, and handed little presents to us._

 _Sakura and I would laugh happily, and hug the man till he couldn't breathe, and mother would watch with her soft smile, and told us not to do it again, of course, we did it again and again, not that they had actually minded. They loved our playfulness, just like how we love them, just the way we were._

 _The scene changed._

 _In front of a manor, a black car parked, waiting. The back window gave sight to an old man grinning maliciously. My sister was being taken away. A man in black was holding her away from our home, taking her away from me. She turned back to me, her sea-blue eyes teary. I stood there, not even taking a step forward, not even saying a word to her._

 _A tear, as beautiful as a precious stone, slid down her cheek, and I knew I lost her forever._

 _I ran back to my room once the car left my sight, closing and locking the door behind me. The tears rolled down my cheeks, fat ugly droplets of liquid, which reminded me over and over again on how useless I was. How insignificant I was in the world. I let the tears come. I didn't try to hold it back, I didn't even try to wipe them away._

 _With my back to the door, I sat down on the cold floor, hugging my knees, burying my face in them, and continued to cry. I didn't know how long did I cry, or why did I pass out, but when I woke up again, my mother was right beside me, her face worried. Tears were forming in her eyes, as she pulled me into a hug._

 _I wanted to cry, but I couldn't feel the tears coming. I felt so empty as if there was no emotion in me. As if the little girl named Tohsaka Rin had died when she lost her sister. All that was left was an empty husk, dragging forward, always moving forward with no aim in life._

 _Once again, the scene changed._

 _A room, the same room as before. The only difference was the time. Before, it was during the day, but now, a moon was clearly seen in the sky, its soft rays gently illuminating the world. I sat in front of my table, with a pen in hand, and several papers on the table in front of me._

 _My mind wandered, to all my memories, digging them back up again, laughing at my own idiocy over the years, at how small I truly was in the vast world. But I also saw things more clearly then. To me at that time, everything was as clear as the day._

 _I smiled at myself, wishing that the letter would reach your hands, hoping that I would have a chance to call you my little sister again._

The memories stopped abruptly, and I jolted awake from the darkness. Slowly, my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, and my senses returned to me. Arcueid, being the worrywart she was, sat right beside my bed, and was already staring into my eyes when she realized that I was awake. Worry was etched on her features, and guiltiness clawed at me.

"You alright?" She asked.

It was a dumb question actually. Considering I just got knocked out by a mere mortal, I was pissed. I didn't answer her and just sat up in bed despite she telling me to lie down. Of course, the old man was nowhere to be seen, probably busy with his research or whatever he was working on in his workshop.

Ruler was standing in a corner, her amethyst eyes regarding me with a gentle, worried glint. When she saw me, she smiled and made her way to the side of my bed.

"It's good to see you awake, milady. Are you feeling better now?"

I nodded and noticed Arcueid pouting. Probably a little crestfallen as I didn't answer her question. Ruler smiled again at my answer and took her leave. The White Princess was glad for the silence, as she wasn't prepared to face her wrath. And surprisingly, the young Magus didn't bring the topic up at all. She just sat there, lying back against the headboard, her eyes staring into space. Complete silence.

So she too just sat there and waited for her to at least say something, anything to her to break the silence. But Daphne seemed to be lost in thought, her finger tapping on her arm, her pupils dilating and contracting. Then she realized what was happening, and stood up, grabbing her by the arms and shouting.

"Hey, Daphne, wake up! Daphne! Daphne!" She called, but the girl was too absorbed in her own thoughts to pay any real attention to her.

The door opened with a bang, and Zelretch rushed into the room, pushing something down her throat. For a moment, they thought she choked on it, as her facial expression was one filled with agony. She doubled over, clutching at her heart before snapping her eyes open, which flashed crimson before turning back to sea-blue. But the ruby glint in them was clearer than before. The two Dead Apostle Ancestors exchanged a glance and agreed not to say anything for now.

Daphne blinked for several times before her gaze finally focused on the two of them. Her voice was a little hoarse, but they sensed no abnormality from her words.

"What happened?" She asked, still a little bleary.

"Nothing," Arcuied said with a poker face. "You seemed to be zooming out, so we just shook you back to reality. Where were you?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, a little annoyed at being woken up. "Somewhere dark..." The elder woman looked surprised. She didn't expect her to actually go anywhere. But perhaps her mind did wander off to a place neither she or her grandfather could reach.

"And? What did you see? What were you doing there?" She pressed on, not wanting to leave any stone unturned.

"Well, for starters, I was just a bystander. I didn't do anything. There was nothing there except me, and these two strange orbs. One of them was so beautiful, rainbow color flickering over its surface. And the power of it radiated was so pure, like a new born baby, innocent to the ways of the world. There was another orb there too. The other one was pulsating with darkness, with red veins spiraling from it, reaching out towards me, coaxing me to reach out for it, wanting me to touch it. I was so close, but you two snapped me out from it." She ended with a roll of her eyes.

Zelretch took a seat on the couch and closed his eyes in thoughts. "So you're basically saying that between the two, you chose the black one?"

The Magus cocked her head in mild surprise. "What's wrong with choosing that one? I mean, the power it radiated was so strong, so unbeatable, anyone would've chosen that one too. Not just me. The rainbow one was powerful, but it had gone weaker over the years. It only solidifies my choice." She finished with a shrug.

The old vampire leaned over in his chair, placing his hands on his thighs and opened his blood red eyes. "I suppose that I should tell you something. It's time that you know what are the powers contained within you."

* * *

The Masters of the Red Faction filed into the spacious room with confused expressions. They had just been woken up, rather roughly by the familiars Medea had sent. Their Servants were not around, as Medea and their Masters had assigned them to different locations on the mountain on guard duty. No matter how good the naturally bounded field around the place was, it was always a good thing to put in extra precautions. She formed an artificial link with them all, so she could be updated on the situation the whole time. She had also given out some trinkets, so they could summon some Dragon Tooth warriors to help in the defense should the enemy decided to strike.

"Anything happened?" Bazett asked. She was the most alert among them all, as her experience as an Enforcer trained her to be alert at all times.

The princess nodded and channeled mana into an orb, which lighted up and displayed images of the Ruler class Servant, and those summoned with her Command Seals. Immediately, all the Masters jolted up, very much awake by the images which were shown by the princess.

"Is that... Lancer? And Saber?" Asked the red head.

"But how?" Sakura asked.

The princess let the images hover in front of them, then proceeded to explain the situation. One of her familiars came into the room with tea and snacks, then took its leave again. Medea pulled back her hood and gazed around her audience.

"Well, as all of you know, the Throne of Heroes exist of the time axis. Hence it is possible to summon Heroic Spirits from the future. However, due to the corruption of the Grail in the third war, it caused unorthodox spirits such as Bluebeard to be summoned. That issue is not what I want to bring to your attention today."

"Then what?" Asked a lazy voice from the door.

Medea turned to see her Master, Shinichi standing at the door, his eyes glued to the Gameboy he held in his hands, a lollipop dangling from between his lips. She was momentary surprised, and quickly stood up, regaining her composure. She walked over to the boy.

"Master, I thought I told you to stay in your rooms?" She said, her voice much gentler than what Shirou could remember.

He paused his game and looked up at her with a sour look. "No, you didn't. You told me not to leave the temple grounds."

She sighed in resignation. "Do you want to join us?"

"Whatever..." The boy mumbled, plopping down beside Karma. Once seated, he didn't even bother to greet the others, or just a simple act of looking up from his game.

Medea sat down again and took a sip of her tea to calm her nerves down. Shirou was staring at her with a weird expression, and the princess frowned at his action.

"Something on my face?" She asked, a little irritated.

He quickly shook his head. "No, that's not it. ... How should I put it? ... Err...you act differently from what I could remember..." He trailed off lamely.

Medea smiled but didn't comment on it. "You have a point there. Indeed, now that you mentioned it, that's what I want to bring up now. We are legends, myths, passed down from generation to generation, era to era. However, even though we survived the corrosion of time, but it doesn't mean we are able to remain who we truly were in life. Not to mention that the Medea sitting here is a mere copy of the true Medea in the Throne, as True Heroic Spirits can never be summoned. As you all know, the legend of Medea had two stages, one, when I was a Princess, and two..."

"You were remembered as a witch..." Luvia said, light dawning on her. "Different aspects of a Heroic Spirit..."

Medea nodded in affirmative. "It's possible to summon the different aspects of a Spirit. Due to the nature of my Master, my alignment is more to the Princess Medea part, instead of the part of the cold-blooded witch. Lancer as well. He was a fierce fighter in his days, hence I'm not surprised he actually qualify for the Berserker class."

"Wait up..." Shirou interrupted. "But Saber's a special case right? She's not even a true Heroic Spirit, to begin with. So how was she summoned as a Lancer?"

Medea thought about the question, then cleared her throat before giving an answer. "I suppose you can think of it in this way. The one who pledged her service to Alaya was the Arthuria wielding the Holy Sword, not the one wielding the Holy Spear. So I suppose some part of her could have ascended to the Throne of Heroes. And just like what I said earlier, we who are summoned, are not the true form of our true selves."

"Will things spiral out of control here?" Luvia asked.

"Things like this is bound to happen. In a war, or just a mission, there's no guarantee that things would go in the way you want them to go. Things always go south, no matter how good your plan may seem in the first place. That is something I must stress on. No matter what kind of strategy that we are coming up with in this war, use them as a guide only." The Enforcer stated.

Medea nodded. "Indeed. Such is the norm in the world. In my time, I thought that I could have a happy life after marrying Jason, but alas. After meeting him, my life changed drastically. Enough about me, shall we move back to the strategizing part?"

"Who's the Master of Ruler?" Shirou asked.

"Good question. It's someone you all know." With a sweep of one hand, another image appeared, and everyone gasped in shock.

"Nee-san?" Sakura croaked, her voice betraying herself. "But I thought..."

"... She doesn't have Command Seals." Luvia finished.

Bazett eyed the girls. "Perhaps not at the time you met her. Or she had simply concealed them with magic. Have you all not consider that possibility?"

The three of them looked momentarily dumbfounded. They felt stupid for not thinking about that. She was a Magus herself, of course she would have thought to do that. Just because they thought they had known the girl ten years ago, it didn't mean that she wouldn't change over the years, especially when they had not seen her in this one decade, only to have her reappearing, and more powerful that ever,

Luvia frowned. "Wait up...just how did she manage to maintain her Servants? Her Ruler Servant and herself didn't seem to be affected by the mana drain from supporting so many Servants. How did she manage to pull that off?"

"Eh? What?" Shinichi asked, finally looking up from his game and paying attention to what they were discussing. "Mana drain?"

Medea turned to the young Magus. "Let me explain this to you. When a Servant is being summoned, the ritual opened a gate into the Throne of Heroes, while the Grail pull the Hero into the modern world. However, after we have been summoned, the Grail no longer supply us with mana. This is taken over by a Master, which is a Magus. In other words, the Masters are the one keeping us in the world. However, a Master requires mana to cast spells as well. Hence, with the draw of mana on both side, it might cause a Master to collapse."

The boy made a face. "In simple words?"

Medea gave him a soft smile. "Well, it means that a Master is unable to support more than one Servant at most times."

"Can't you just say that to me in the first place?" He countered with a pout.

Ferdinand leaned his elbows on the low table. "Allow me to interrupt. In this Apocrypha, things might not be as simple as a usual Apocrypha. As you all know, due to the foolishness of the Einzberns in the third war, and our obsession to attain the Third Magic, Avenger was summoned, causing the Grail to be corrupted. Aside from being the Einzbern champion in this war, I also hold the responsibility to end the War once and for all."

"That's a first, the Einzberns actually admitted their folly..." Bazett mumbled under her breath.

The homunculus didn't miss it, though. However, he decided to brush the comment off. "Hence I am asking for your help. I don't care what the old man Acht would react to this, I need help if I were to achieved what I have come here for in the first place."

The rest of the party looked at each other. It was clear what their decision was. Shirou was the one to voice their decision. "We will help you as well, Ferdinand. I've seen what the Holy Grail is truly like, Sakura had lost a lot due to the Grail. Though Bazett and Luvia had yet to know the true nature of the Grail, they will help as well."

"And I shall assist you all as well," Medea remarked. "I've been to the cavern which houses the Greater Grail. What I felt when I was there was not the wish granting omnipotent tool. Instead, its presence was so malevolent it could drive anyone insane with the power, the pure darkness it's holding back. You can practically feel the curses bubbling beneath the surface of the container."

Ferdinand nodded. "Indeed. When we sent a team to Fuyuki a few years ago, they returned to Germany with the same results. Hence, the old man had wanted us to shut down the system."

"Still, he should at least inform the rest of the Founding Families. Not to mention the Matou, as they're defunct, but a letter to the Tohsaka wouldn't hurt." Sakura said in his face.

"My deepest apologies, lady Tohsaka. The old man was stubborn on how things should be done. Some of the elders did bring the topic up but were dismissed. I myself feel obliged to let you know, as your ancestor did offer his land as the place to conduct the ritual in the first place."

Luvia decided to step in before things went haywire. "Let's calm down and move back to our topic, shall we? Caster, what do you propose we do now that the third force had shown up?"

The Magus from the Age of Gods smiled. "Nothing. We hole up in Ryuudou temple for the time being and gather as much information as we could before we attack. Even better, let them take out each other first, then we just swoop in for the final kill."

"I disagree." Said Sakura adamantly. "My goal in this war is clear. My sister is alive, and she's my top priority. I will save her, I will bring her back to her true family."

Medea narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Child, you do know what are the stakes if you wish to go on with your childish whims? It may be true that she's your sister. But this is a war, and you have no idea what would happen. Not to mention the fact that you have not seen her in a decade. Who knows how much she has changed? With eight Heroic Spirits under her command, she can easily tip the war in her favor."

Luvia turned to Medea. "I disagree with your point. You may be true that she has the control over the biggest force in the war. However, in order to take out her force, all we need to do is to kill her, and we are all back to zero."

"Edelfelt-san!" Shirou exclaimed. "Not you too..."

Bazett sighed. "I'm afraid I agree with Edelfelt. We're trying to keep ourselves alive here. That's our top priority. Everything other than that can wait."

"About the Ruler faction..." Ferdinand interrupted, focusing on an image. "I believe we have bigger problems than we originally expected."

* * *

Beowulf was not pleased with how things had turned out so far. Whatever plans he had made had been flushed down the drain without even having the chance to be executed. Not to mention the assault on the Emiya compound. He was planning to take out the entire faction in one go, but all they did was to take out a Servant. And even that wasn't done by him or Mordred. Instead, the Lord had been the one to complete the feat.

He slammed a fist into the armrest of the armchair he was seated and gulped down his wine in one go. "I will make them all pay for this. Especially the enemy faction. Then, I will kill the three of them myself. I will not tolerate such insult to my family. The Rozenwalt will be the new rulers of the world we shall create."

"Calm down, Beowulf," Francis said to the man. "We still have a lot of chances to get back at them. Besides, the war is just warming up. Let's take our time to enjoy the show for now."

"He's right, wolfie. Keep your fangs in check..." Said Charlotte, a little drunk.

The man glared at her but say no more. It was clear he was angry and was in no mood to entertain them. He turned to the empty seat and wondered how Yvonne was doing at the moment. Even at times like this, she still refuses to fully follow through with his plans. She was too obsessed with killing the Emiya Magus.

"Modred..." He called, and the swordswoman appeared in a shower of red. She remained knelt before her Master, with her head hung low. "How are you guys faring?"

She raised her head. "Well, my Master. The mana supplied is enough for us to heal ourselves. We shall fully recover in two days."

"Then we will raid the temple the night after tomorrow," Beowulf said decisively.

Francis sat up straight. "Wait, Beowulf. It's better for us to gather more information before making any more attacks on the enemy. You know fully well how we had suffered from the lack of information."

"I don't care." He stated as a matter of fact.

Charlotte sighed, and turned to Francis, shaking his head. She knew there was no way of getting to him once he made up his mind. It's to follow his plan or leave.

"Then what's the plan?" He asked in resignation.

Beowulf's eyes glinted. "No plans this time. We'll just rush in, and do as much damage as we can."

The two of them blinked in surprise. But that didn't mean that they didn't love the plan. In fact, that was what they had wanted in the first place. In the Holy Grail war, there was no need for plans. All that they needed was the skill on how to survive it.

"Hmm, wolfie, I think that you forgot something just now..." Charlotte mumbled, taking another swig from her bottle. "The mountain has its own natural bounded fields to repel our Servants. We need to charge into the place announced. There's only one narrow path up the hill, and both forces will be concentrated in one area."

"Your point?"

Francis connected the dots first. "Wait, do you mean..." The woman nodded, and his expression turned grave. Beowulf urged the man to continue. "...no matter what happens in the end, no matter which faction falls, all the remaining forces might be taken out by the Ruler class and her allies. We cannot overlook such a possibility. After the fight, we are at our most vulnerable."

The leader nodded in agreement. "You're both right. However, we should avoid any other problems which might arise from this conflict between the three forces. If we can, take one out to avoid an alliance between them."

"Then why not we ally ourselves to one of the faction first?" Charlotte suggested.

Beowulf sprang from his chair in pure anger, throwing his wine glass at her feet. The woman immediately woke up from her drunken state and blinked at the man before her. Francis sweatdropped, but said nothing to avoid himself being caught in the crossfire.

 _I guess I can understand why Lord Waver rather follow the Queen. Maybe I made the wrong choice..._ Francis thought to himself bitterly.

He watched on as Beowulf sat back shakily onto his chair, while Charlotte looked at him with a fearful expression. The man sat back, closed his eyes and sighed a few times, before opening them and looking at her.

"Never suggest such an idea again. It's outrageous. I am Beowulf Rozenwalt. I do not need help from them. All that I need are Magus with exceptional skills. Those brats are not even worth my blade. More ever, I refuse to lower myself to such a low level."

Francis allowed himself a small smile. "They may be brats in your eyes, my good leader, but don't you think that you might be underestimating them? One of them is a Freelancer with unknown powers. All that we know about him is that he has aligned Affinity and Origin. It's not a far stretched supposition that he has skills near the borders of true magic. Tohsaka may be young and new to the branch of magic she's using, but she has a crest to compensate for it. Edelfelt, the elegant hyenas, with skills on par with the Tohsaka for centuries, and people even said that they might be better that the Tohsakas. Fraga, she has a Noble Phantasm of her own."

Beowulf said nothing. He didn't even seem to be paying any attention to him at all. Charlotte was looking at the both of them with a worried expression. Francis forced himself not to yell at the man, and instead try to make him listen to him, by putting as much information as he can into his speech.

"Listen, Beowulf. The Karma boy might be out of the run, but he can still be a Master if he decides to take any of ours. And he can. The Master of Caster remains unknown, and the Einzberns have come up with a homunculus none had ever seen. Surely you can't mean that none of them pose any threat?"

"They don't." He answered coldly. "That doesn't mean anything. We will win in the end. I, as a Rozenwalt vow on my family name on this. I will crush them with my power, and all of us shall rise to become the new rulers of the new world that I will create."

Francis and Charlotte exchanged a glance and sighed in unison. Once again, Beowulf had sunk into his obsession of creating a new world, with him at the top of the pyramid. As for them, they were somewhere between the ordinary Magus and him. No matter what he might have said to them, he never did consider them as equal.

Charlotte took another swig, and sank back into her drunken state, while Francis eyed the other man warily.

* * *

Daphne strode purposefully to her temporary workshop to gather up some things before leaving the place. Her Servants had begun to quarrel the moment they got back, with Lancer screaming at Ruler for being a traitor and all. She had dismissed them with a wave of her hand. She was in no mood to deal with them or any other ruckus. With the Blue Faction temporarily out of commission, it was time for her to settle some things before things heat up again

Her Servant, Ruler was right behind her, silently following her steps, not even asking a single question on what they were going to do next. It didn't matter to her anyway. All that she had on her mind was to protect her and serve the end of her pact. And of course, her true responsibilities as a Ruler.

She watched the woman who summoned her with an unreadable expression. It was strange for someone of her age to possess such powers, even for an Average One. She had seen how capable she was with her Mystic Code, developed to enhance her skills to its fullest. Joan d Arc had never seen such monstrous power. Not even in the enemies which raided her homeland. Not even those who executed her.

What she saw in the woman was something she could never understand. She knew that she was in a league she could never reach. Even without such powers, they were from different worlds. She was a woman of God and believed in God with her everything. Her Master, however, was someone who practiced the arts and seeks the Origin of everything, unlike her who was content to know God was the one who created everything.

She stole a glance to the man walking beside her, Sir Tristan of the Round Table. He was a man better known for his skills in archery instead of his swordsmanship. But still, his skills as a swordsman wasn't hindered in the slightest bit. He walked with a melancholy air about him. To her, whatever that he did was sad but beautiful at the same time. Even with his eyes close, he could follow their Master's pace without fault.

"Ruler, Archer..." Daphne called, coming to a halt. They had reached her workshop, and she gathered up some scrolls, stuffing them into her cloak before turning to face them. "Do any of you have the slightest idea what are we going to do next?"

The both of them shook their heads. She had decided to let the rest of the team move ahead, leaving only the two of them as her escorts. Tristan opened his eyes, and placed a hand over his heart, bowing.

"No matter what you wish us to do, milady, I will do it. I failed my king once. I will not fail you." He said solemnly.

"And I as well. I am your sword, and our destiny is tied." Ruler said

She nodded slowly, and her eyes flashed crimson. "Good, because it's time to settle some old debts."

* * *

 **R &R plz~**


	14. Chapter 14

**FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH**

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

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 **A/N** Sorry for the long wait. Between schoolwork, assignments, clubs and all those reality calls, plus another episode of writer's block, this chapter came out late. Sorry for the delay guys, but I hope you will enjoy the story. Do leave reviews to let me know how my story is progressing.

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

"Halt…" A voice echoed through the mountain, and the trio ascending the stairs stood in front of their Master, weapons raised.

"Show yourself." Ruler demanded calmly, her sword raised, and her eyes scanning the area around them. She couldn't believe the fact that they had been someone with them all this while and she hadn't noticed it. Tristan was having the same expression like her, confusion clearly etched on his face as his hawk-like eyes scanned the surroundings like her.

Daphne put out one arm before the swordswoman and gently ushered her aside. "I was wondering when you'd show yourself. I noticed you, but decided to wait till you do something since I feel that you mean us no harm."

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows, clusters of sparkling dust took the form of a human figure, clad in a red cloak, sapphire blue eyes glimmering from under the hood. A soft smile played across her lips, and the figure curtseyed before speaking up once more.

"Greetings, you all. I reckon that you come here in search of mending your relationship with your sister?" She inquired, already knowing the answer to her question.

Daphne took another step forward, Ruler moved to intercept, but this time, Tristan was the one who held her back, shaking his head when she glared at him. As a knight, he understood that their Master had to face this alone. It might be true that he was summoned to be her sword, but at times, there were things that a Servant shouldn't be interfering. And Tristan knew now was such a situation. Reluctantly, Ruler stepped back, placing her sword back to its scabbard while Tristan stowed away his bow. If the figure decided to show hostility, he believed he could take the person down before his Master was harmed.

"And how did you know that?" She questioned back, growling a bit. The woman knew too much for her liking. No one, not even her grandfather or sister had known the true purpose of her nocturnal visit, yet this woman-yes, she was sure it's a woman due to her voice- had pointed things out quite bluntly. She suspected the woman knew far more than she was willing to let on, and she found herself starting to hate the woman, no matter who she might turn out to be.

The woman chuckled. "Have you not figured it out?" She countered in an amused tone. She knew the younger woman might be dense at times, but not that dense till she couldn't even figure out who she was. Inwardly still chuckling, she held up a hand, and a diamond bracelet glimmered under the soft rays of the moon. She watched as the younger woman's eyes widened before her mouth gaped open at the sight, then she raised her own arm, and stared at the Mystic Code there. She gasped out in realization, and so did her Servants, who exchanged looks but remained silent.

"You…you're…" She couldn't finish her sentence. Her mind was still trying to process the information she had just received. _Did Grandfather bring her to my world? Why would he do that?_ She let her arm fall to her side. _He didn't even bother to tell me that he had brought someone to this world? More ever, that person's another me!_ Her mind howled at herself at the fact.

She pulled the hood over her head. A face, completely the same as hers, looked back at her. The only differences were, her eyes were pure blue, and they were filled with the ages and wisdom she had gone through in her life. Her hair was long and silky, just like her own, but they lack the silver-white streaks in them. Her lips curled up into a soft smile, and her eyes seemed melancholy to them. It was as if she was holding in some pain.

"Indeed I am, Rin." She affirmed her thoughts. Sure, she may not be the Tohsaka Rin of this world, but she was still the Magus nonetheless. In another world, she was apprenticed to the Lord of the Second as well and had traveled to various worlds on different occasions. This time, he had brought her along without any of his other companies noticing, and she had made a move without informing him. It was too much for the brunette to sit behind the scenes without trying to help.

Ruler was tempted to lurch forward and cut the woman she thought as an abomination down. _How dare she takes the form of my Master? How dare of her to insult milady this way?!_ Rage blinded her mind, and the red-haired knight had to once again pull the Frenchwoman back. Without turning to face either one of them, Daphne raised her hands to reveal the glowing Command Seals, and both Heroic Spirits immediately stood at full attention.

Finally settling the two troublesome spirit, she turned her full attention back to the other her. The 'her' from another world. "What do you want?" She growled out her question.

Rin shook her head sadly. "You have yet to realize, no?" Seeing the look of confusion on her younger self's face, she continued, "I have seen the darkness that now lurks inside your heart. Perhaps you might not remember this, as Lord Zel had informed me of your amnesia, but have you really forgotten? That burning black mud? Seeking to corrupt your mind, drowning you with its curses?"

At the mention of the mud, Daphne saw scenes unfolding before her eyes. She was standing at the edge of what used to be a pond, a tower of humanoid limbs spewing black burning mud into the pond, bubbling and releasing steaming vapor in the process. She remembered speaking to a redheaded boy, then swallowing a gem, she stepped into the boiling mud, making her way towards the tower despite the burning sensation in her legs.

Her vision blurred, and she sank to her knees, clutching her pounding head. Ruler rushed forward, leaning the woman against her, while Tristan pulled out his bow, his arrow trained on her. The older Rin smiled, raising both her hands up in surrender. The knight narrowed his eyes, but Rin merely shrugged.

"I mean no harm. I'm just here to talk."

"Don't think so." A lazy voice drawled from below. Mist shimmered and Achilles came into view. A handsome young man with a muscular build and clad in full body armor made from leather. He had a scowl on his face, and arms crossed over his chest as he stared into the other version of his Master. He had never liked the idea of Humans summoning heroes from the throne. In his mind, he had always thought of humans as selfish creatures, pulling the spirits of heroes from across all time and ages, forcing the once legendary heroes into submission with the use of the dreaded Command Seal. In his own opinion, the humans needed to be culled for their insolence, disturbing their slumber.

"Achilles…" Rin greeted, bowing to the man before her.

The Greek hero snorted. _I will not fall for your crude tricks._ The man told himself. He walked up the flight of stairs, not even sparing his allies and Master a glance as he made his way up to the woman. Rin respectfully bowed once again as the man towered over her, his scowl still clear on his face. He reached out one hand and held her chin up as he inspected her. Her sapphire orbs didn't even flinch even when he gave her his glare. In fact, there wasn't even fear in them, to begin with. There was respect. Respect for the hero standing before her.

Achilles broke into a laugh as he released her, taking a step backward. Ruler and Tristan watched in confusion, while Daphne tried to focus on the scene with her pounding head. The Greek turned his gaze to the older woman and smiled.

"You're different." He whispered, his eyes softening as he gazed into the sapphire orbs.

"How so?" She questioned, intrigued to know the answer.

He smiled again. "You're a Magus too, right?" She nodded. "Then there lies the answer, young lady. I do not see the greed for power in your eyes. Instead, I see that you've been through a great lot of pain. You've seen more evil than you wanted to, haven't you?"

Rin tore away her gaze, tears gathering in her eyes. "I… I killed my own sister… I thought that was the best thing to do, that it was the only option I had left. Because, if I had spared my sister, the whole world would shatter under the power of the Angra Mainyu. But after I killed her, and saved the world, I realized that my own world had shattered in its own way… I was so lost. I had nothing to live for… nothing… even the man I loved with all my heart turned his back against me when he knew I killed my sister…"

Achilles looked on with a melancholy expression. He pulled the woman into a hug, pressing her against his chest. He didn't understand why he was doing it, but he didn't resent the woman. She may be the same person as the one who summoned him, but at the same time, she was different from his Master. He thought he hated humans with all his heart, but one look into the woman's eyes, he realized that she had lost more than she could bear to lose.

"Then we are different. You are not me." Daphne said, rising to her feet as she did so. Ruler still supported her, and she let the blonde. Right now, she had more important matters to attend to. The woman in front of her, though she was her from another universe, she was not her. If Sakura was truly her sister, then she would never hurt her. She would love her with everything she had. Because that was what she believed an elder sibling should be like.

Rin detached herself from the man and gazed upon her younger self. She knew that look all too well. When she was younger, she was just like Daphne, impulsive, stubborn, always believing that she was the right, no matter how wrong she actually was. It was the reason Tohsaka Rin had broken down in the first place.

"Oh, enlighten me." Rin countered.

Daphne snarled at the sight. "I will never hurt her. As an elder sister, I will never hurt my sister, let alone kill her. What kind of sister are you?! You killed her when you thought her death could save the world, but you didn't look for another solution to things. You could've found another solution, yet you impulsively did the first thing that crossed your mind."

"I could say the same about you, young one. Do you really think that you're all that different from me? Think again, who was the one who left her sister to the Matou twenty-one years ago? Who was the uncaring Magus all these years? You knew who Matou Sakura was, yet you had never questioned her on her wellbeing, sticking to the contract drawn up by that man you called a _father_ and that plague Sakura called a _grandfather._ Being daddy's girl all the time. Hell, you wouldn't even look at her in the eye and be a sister for once. Ever since Tohsaka Sakura was wiped out from the family record, you acted as if such a person never existed."

Daphne staggered backward. Luckily, she had Ruler standing behind her to prevent her from falling. "I… I… no, that's not true… I… I would never do that…"

"You and I are one and the same, no matter how you wish to think things differently. I overheard what Lord Zel had told you about, and that's the only difference between us. In my world, my sister, Sakura was the one who posed a threat to the world, but she had never wanted that to happen. I failed her, her senpai failed her. We all failed to see her despair, and she broke, accepting the darkness. Because there is no misery, no sadness, no despair inside the darkness. It's just a void, a void of darkness. But you, you of all people, had accepted that darkness within you willingly. You know its terror, its curses, yet you embrace its power as if it's an extension of your limb. Why are you sinking so low?"

"I did not!" Daphne hollered back, her shadows rippling out around her. Ruler tool one look at things and quickly pulled Tristan away as well. The man was slow in his move and one of the tendrils latched onto his leg and the man grunted in pain before pulling herself free.

 _Come, come to me…_ A voice whispered to her in her head. _Come, come and join me in my gardens, together, we shall bring the world to their knees amidst the blazing flames…_

"Step back!" Rin shouted as she noticed the crimson flashing in her eyes, her hair bleaching at a fast rate, and the shadows intensified, swirling around them and hitting everything in sight. The four of them ducked below the tendrils, but the surrounding trees were not so fortunate as they got cut down by the tendrils. Rin rolled out of the way, with Achilles close behind. The man gathered the woman into his arms, and with a jump, he maximized his agility to get her to the temple gate. He put her down and rushed back to draw the attention of his Master as the other two tried to cut their way out of things.

With one slash from her sword, Ruler immediately jumped free of the tentacles, pulling the knight with her. In the midst of confusion, Tristan placed his sword back into the scabbard and took out his bow, nocking arrows and firing them at rapid fire pace. Their Master didn't even look up as a barrier went up around her, shielding her off from any form of attacks. She fell to her knees, hands clutching her head, and her mana went wild around her.

Silver streaks landed from the skies, and Rin swore that man just wanted to meet his death far sooner than expected. Sure enough, upon contact with the field, the projections shattered and exploded into a wild inferno, sending the trees around them ablaze. The man in question appeared in a shimmer of red beside Rin, who sent him a glare, but he merely shrugged his shoulders as he projected Caladboldg.

Rin's eyes went wide before she pounced herself onto the man, knocking him off balance and sending the two of them crashing to the ground. Archer looked up into a pair of sapphire orb he knew too well and knew that he was in trouble. Rin pulled back a fist and brought it down with such a force she had the Counter Guardian coughing at the impact.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She hollered at him, her Mystic Code flashing urgently. "And you better give me a good answer, Archer, or I swear I'd kill you, even if that's the last thing I will ever do."

The Counter Guardian had to smile at that. _Rin is still Rin, no matter where she is when she is._ He pushed the petite Magus off him gently and looked into her eyes with his molten steel gaze. "You of all people should know why I'm doing this, Rin." He said in a soft tone. "You've seen how malevolent the curses are, surely you won't want to see a world destroyed by it?"

"What of Sakura?" She insisted heatedly. She knew that he had a point, but she didn't want to see Sakura get hurt again. Not because of her again. There would be no more tears from the girl she loved dearly. "I know what you're thinking, Archer. But, you've been summoned into multiple universes as well. Surely you don't want to see the siblings separated again, right?"

"Done chit-chatting?" The Hound of Ireland asked as he too appeared in a shower of blue. "Bazett and the rest of the lot heard the commotion and sent me on first as a scout. Didn't know pretty boy here can move his ass so fast." He pointed his lance to the hurricane on the stairs. "That?"

Rin merely nodded, and the man smirked in delight before jumping down to join the fight.

"Don't hurt her!" She managed to shout after the man, not that she knew he was actually paying any attention to her anyway.

The blue-clad spearman cut through the dark tendrils with ease, but he couldn't stop the advance of the woman, who was now back on her feet and slowing making her way up the stairs. Neither Heroic Spirits nor Counter Guardian wanted to be engulfed by the mud, but they had to stop her. Stop the malevolence.

"Nee-san?" Sakura called, her voice laced with worry. Rin turned to face the party, noting the Servants in full battle gear, Magus with their Mystic Codes, and even the homunculus had weapons with them. She sighed in defeat and accepted Archer's help as she rose to her feet.

"It seems that she has just crossed the line."

Shirou looked at her with a suspicious expression. "And are you sure you didn't say anything to provoke her?"

Rin glared back at him. "I just told her the truth. If she's a Magus, she should suck it up, bear the pain of the truth."

"You know she's not ready for this, so why?" He retorted, his Magic Circuits flaring across his body. Mana crackled around the boy, and his eyes gleamed silver.

"Oh, are you reprimanding me know? It seems to be that Emiya Shirou had finally grown a backbone huh? Yelling at a woman?" She countered, sarcasm heavy in the tone of her raised voice.

"You!" Shirou almost yelled, hands tightening around Kansho and Bakuya formed in his hands.

Sakura stepped in, mana surging. "Enough, both of you! Is this really the time to be at each other's throat? Nee-san's life is on the stack here, and if the both of you want to holler at each other, do it somewhere else."

She stepped away from the duo, making her way down the stairs. Rin ran after her, grabbing the younger woman's arm. Sakura winced at the tight grip, trying to wrench her arm free, but Rin had the stronger hold. She forced the younger Magus to face her. "What the hell are you doing?" She hissed.

"I'm going to save her." She answered. "Do you even have to ask that?" Rin looked ready to object, but Sakura cut her to it. "Look, I know you're concerned for me, especially watching your Sakura died in your hands. But now, you have to leave things to us. This isn't your world, I'm not your sister. But she is." She gestured to the woman ascending the stairs. "And just like you, no matter what my sister turns into, I will continue to love her no matter what, because she's my everything. She's the only living relative I have left."

Looking into the sapphire orbs, Rin realized how serious Sakura was. Reluctantly, she let go of the petite Magus and watched as she walked down the stairs to meet her sister. She watched in horror as the same shadow appeared around Sakura. Taking a step forward, her advances were stopped by Bazett, who shook her head.

"It's her fight, Tohsaka."

She looked back to the tendrils emerging from Sakura's shadow. "But, the Angra Mainyu…"

"Have some faith in her, Tohsaka. She's not the Sakura you know." Shirou remarked dryly.

"And I'm not the Tohsaka you know, so stop 'Tohsaka' me." She countered with a snort.

The male spluttered and coughed. Ferdinand stepped forward and pat the male on the shoulder, who smiled back gratefully. Shirou had not expected her to counter him that way. Sure, he knew she wasn't in their way, but that was one way to shut him back down. He didn't know her full story, just the bits and pieces she let them on, and even that, she had been secretive.

They watched on, none of them making any move, even the Servants had retreated up to the temple gates. None of them wanted to be caught in between the crossfire of the two Magus, who could wield those shadows. They had felt nothing but utter malevolence from the source, and now there were two of them radiating the same negative energies.

Daphne snarled at the woman blocking her path. _I have to get to the sound. The voice that urged me to be with it. Together, we shall bring the world to its knees. Together…_ Her mind clouded by the power raging through her circuits, and the sweet voice that beckoned her to drown herself amidst the power it presented.

 _Yes, yes, join me, accept me… together as one, we shall have the world at our mercy…_ Laughter echoed in her mind.

Sakura let the darkness inside her emerged from its long slumber, and the two powers clashed against each other, the tendrils canceling each other off. The mana outburst continued to rage, cutting down everything in their vicinity. The black mud continued to bubble, spreading its domain, burning everything in their touch, except their wielders. Humanoid shapes surfaced from the mud, and screams of the dead filled the silence of the night. The party atop the temple gates shivered at the sight and sound, but none dare to make any move.

"Nee-san, listen to me!" Sakura yelled over the anguish screams of the dead, stepping in closer to her sister. Her sister paid no heed to her, her eyes flashed goldenly and her hair was disarrayed, wild in every direction. Daphne's mana level continued to rise, as red veins crept all over her body, pulsing in resonance with the power she was unleashing.

" **You will not stand in my way!** " A voice, deep and evil, roared at them. " **I will have my revenge on those who had wronged me, on all those who had tormented me. I shall avenge those who were wronged! None of you shall stand in my way! You will all be ashes by the end of the day!"** With another roar, Daphne released her full power, blasting Sakura off her feet, sending her flying a few feet away. Medusa immediately rushed forward, securing her Master in her arms. The shadows her Master had summoned had vanished

"Master?" Rider asked the Magus in her arms.

Sakura stirred, blinking confusion from her eyes. "Rider? I… I'm fine…"

"Thermal constructions, full ether charging!" Rin's voice bellowed over the place, and all eyes were trained on her. Cut gems hovered around her, all of them were rubies, and gathering energy from around them. The gems glowed brighter and brighter, and those closer to the Magus began to feel the heat, and immediately pulled away. The rubies continued to glow, and once the energy stored reached its peak, the gems' shine remained the same. Rin took a glance at the constructs around her and pressed her lips into a thin line. _I've never done this before… I have no idea how much damage I can cause…_

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she brought her hand down, and the gems glowed once before all of them converge and blasted towards the shadow. The energy was high enough to scorch the stairs, and the unfortunate trees lining the side of the stairs caught fire and began to burn merrily. The heat wave hit directly on the shadow. Through the heat haze, Rin clearly saw a wall of shadow shooting up from the mud, blocking the blast, sending the heat outwards, sending more trees on fire, and the stairs around her scorched.

"Nee-san, what are you doing?!" Sakura screamed, pulling at her hand. "You'll kill her!" She continued, tears evident in her eyes.

Rin turned to face the woman who was her sister, but at the same time, wasn't. "If it's that easy to kill her, she wouldn't have lived that long." Her voice was cold, like a machine. Her sapphire orbs too held no emotions in them. Sakura stepped back, fear climbing up her spine. The woman before her, she was not her sister. They're different.

"Rin…" Archer called, and Rin immediately turned her attention to the man, who projected more swords around him, and sent them flying at the woman, plunging them into the ground, trying to cut off her path. But the shadows once again appeared from behind the smoke of the previous blast and cut through them like a hot knife through butter. He grunted and turned to the woman again. "Oh, not going to yell at me this time?" He asked, an amused smirk on his face.

She returned the smirk and turned her attention to the other her. "Ain't the time to shout at you, pretty boy. Settle her first, before you have to fight as a Counter Guardian instead of a Servant."

"Worried about me?" He continued the banter. But he didn't take his eyes off the threat, instead of projecting more and more swords to try and stop her.

"No, I'm not doing this for her. I'm doing this for Sakura." She answered. "No more sadness. I don't want to see her tears anymore. The sight of my sister, dying in my arms, tears on her cheeks, the blood and life leaving her body, but she smiled through the pain, smiled until the very end."

Archer didn't say anything. After a momentary silence between the two, he finally asked the question he had wanted to ask ever since she told them her story. "You didn't sell out your soul, right? You didn't trade your freedom for another chance, right?"

She didn't answer him, but only gave him a sad smile. "Not a second chance in saving her. I traded my freedom for something else. Something you will never understand."

* * *

 _I held her body close to me, my tears have long since died. Her body lay limp in my arms, becoming colder and colder by the minute. Her smile was still there, it never faded._ _My heart wrenched at the sight._

 _How could she still smile? Why could she still smile? I left her, let her be tormented, left her to her fate, never caring about her. Betrayed at the very end, by me. BY ME!_

 _I wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Turn after turn, year after year, betrayal after betrayal, she never blamed me. Not even a harsh word. Nothing. All that she had cared was, she didn't hurt any of us._

 _How foolish can you get, Sakura? How selfless can you get?_

 _Pushing a wet lock from her face, I placed a soft kiss on her forehead and pulled the girl closer to my bosom. I never had the chance to hold her this close, not after that man we had once called a father sent her away. It had been so long ago, and I couldn't even recall the feeling of holding my sister in my arms._

 _Fresh tears slid down my cheeks, startling me. I thought… after all that I've been through, after all the tears that I had shed, I thought I had none left. But looking at the girl lying in my arms, the blood pooling beneath us, my tears came._

" _Sakura… Sakura…" I sobbed like a baby. "Sakura…"_

 _ **Do you want the power? The power to undo all this?**_

" _No…" I sobbed, croaking out my answer._

 _ **Why not? If this ending hurts you so much, why not change it?**_

 _"Because of her… she won't want me to…" I murmured, motioning to Sakura._

 _ **But, what about you?**_

 _I shook my head, smiling sadly. I knew what was headed my way, I knew what kind of help this voice wanted to offer, but I will not use its power for myself._

" _If… if I were to use your power, to seek your help, but not for my own reasons, will you help?" I could almost see a face behind the voice smiling._

 _ **Of course, but you need to know, we trade one favor for the other. I will lend you my powers for your use, in your life, as of onwards. But in return…**_

" _I… I will pledge eternal servitude to you."_

 _ **Then the pact has been sealed. Go, follow your heart.**_

* * *

Rin gathered all the mana she had in her circuits, and let the flare to its highest before releasing it in full torrent. The mana spread out like a blade, blowing all the Magus and the Servants with low Magic Resistance off their feet. The air immediately smelled like ozone. The younger Magus among them, Shinichi, dropped to his feet and began to retch, and his Servant crouched down to ease the boy, who had tears from his eyes was now trying to cough up dry vomit.

"I will not make the same mistake again!" She roared, and raising her left hand, her Magic Crest flared to life, the spells in them activated, and a Gandr began to charge. "Luvia, you too."

"What?" The Finnish Magus was lost for a moment before she realized what her 'cousin' was going. She raised her hand and a Gandr began to charge as well. Then, she seemed to remember a very important question. "Er, who are we hitting?"

"Me." She replied coldly.

"Huh? You?" She asked.

"Not me, me. Me, her!" Rin said, her shot pointed at Daphne. "On my mark. One, two… now!" With that, the charge let the end of her fingertips, and joined up with the shot from Luvia, hitting the Magus in the chest, and immediately knocking her out. The shadows disappeared, her hair and eyes returned to their original colors.

Sakura jumped down the steps and pulled her sister into her arms. "What were you thinking?!" She hollered at the older Magus. "She could've died!"

Rin shrugged, not even feeling guilty about what she had done. "I didn't do anything wrong, Sakura. I did what I had to do to keep you alive."

"I don't need that." She countered. "I can take care of myself."

That speech cut across the older Magus' heart. She pulled the hood down her face. "It seems, that my presence here is unwelcome. I shall take my leave then." She turned to leave, but Archer reached out to grab her upper arm.

"That was what you trade your eternal servitude for, right?" He asked, his grip growing tighter. Rin glared daggers at him, but he wasn't intimidated. "Not a chance in your world, not your past. But the chance to change those fates in the other worlds."

Rin sighed as a sign of defeat and turned to the man she loved. "Indeed. Because no matter what I do, my Sakura is still dead, even if I had chosen to revive her. Because that's not my Sakura. But after years of wandering through the worlds, I realized something was flawed."

"That whatever you had wished for in the first place can never be granted." He said in a solemn tone. "You saw it, didn't you?" When he received no answers from the woman, he urged on again. "Did you?"

She laughed. "I was stupid, just like how you put yourself. The wish of wanting to save everyone is just a fairy tale. I should've listened to you. Even when my wish was to save the few that I love and cherish, I never did save anyone. I was always one step too late."

"Does everyone that I know end up as a Counter Guardian?" Shirou moaned, suddenly feeling all that was happening was just another bad joke.

"Not everyone…" Archer muttered to himself.

Bazett did something she never thought she would do. She pulled the woman into an embrace. As an Enforcer, she didn't show her affection to anyone, especially not to the hunted. But now, she felt something for the woman in her arms. Rin didn't push her away. She stayed in the embrace, basking in the warmth she had lost so long ago. For years, she had been bathing her hands in blood. Blood of those she had loved.

"I… I'm useless. Even with the power in my hands, I had changed nothing. Throughout my journey, I saw only more deaths, more separations. There was nothing I could do. It was always too late. Just like this world. I couldn't save my own Sakura, but I had hoped with this power in my hands, these siblings in other worlds would never have to suffer what I had suffered."

Bazett bit her lips. She had no idea what she had gone through, what she had seen. But in the years that she had served the Counter Force, she must've seen worst scenarios, but to her, separation of siblings was the worst form of torment one could ever suffer.

"Let it go, Tohsaka." Luvia cut in, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's over now."

"NO!" She screamed and pushed the woman embracing her, her mana level climbing. "It… it can't be over. No, no yet! I… I haven't even done anything yet." Her sapphire orbs went to the siblings on the stairs. _So content._ She broke into a maniacal laughter.

"Who knew?! Who knew?! Who knew that when I haven't done anything, all problems have been resolved. My efforts had been in vain. Whatever that I had tried to help with, it was just extra work, work meant to destroy them. Then what was the meaning I pledge my servitude to you?!" She screamed towards the sky. "Answer me! ALAYA!"

Of course, no answer came from the heavens.

She sank to her knees, her face buried in her hands. "Why? Why?" Her frame shook. "Why? Have you lied to me? Have you lied to me, lied to me that I have the power to change the world, but in the end, I, just a puppet in your hands? Is this how our subconscious mind truly is? Then what's the use to save this world? For what we protect Humanity?"

"For survival." An aged voice bellowed. Zelretch appeared from inside the temple gates, and stepped forward, pulling his apprentice up. "You still have a lot to learn. Humanity may be cruel, cold, heartless at times, but this minority does not represent Humankind. Think of the others, people like your sister…"

"I can't…" She cried hoarsely. "I'm not that selfless."

"Second…" The rest echoed in respect. The old man dismissed them with a wave of his hand. They looked at each other, even Shinichi had stood up with help from Medea, and was busy gaping at the sight before him.

He looked into those sapphire orbs. They no longer held the childish innocence he had seen when he first took her under his wings. With him, she had seen more than she should, not to mention, her pledge to Alaya had made things even more difficult for her. She had been with him for years, but her soul, her true soul had been stuck at the time she made her pledge. She would always return to that time after she answered her summons.

What aged was her physical shell, but her soul will remain alive forever, bounded by a pact to the Counter Force.

" **Oh lookie lookie. Things are just getting warmed up huh? Then I suppose I should join the party now.**

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 **P/N:** That's it, folks! Do R&R and a very hearty thank you for all of you out there who have been continually supporting this fic & the author~ Do check out **Altered Kaleidoscope** by our very beloved writer, **Rin!**


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